Happenstance
by thistooshallpass
Summary: Then she said "I hope you're happy, you disgusting excuse of a man." Sometimes, the greatest endings, had the strangest beginnings. Their's was a divorce.
1. Familiar Meetings

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

"They'll be arriving shortly, I trust you three can manage to stay out of trouble long enough for your parents to arrive." The sharp voice of an aged Headmistress McGonagall sounded as the three students sat in her office looking particularly guilty.

The headmistress groaned inwardly. She loved her former students and held them in great regard, that is, until they need to come in together to speak about the three in front of her. She didn't know if she could handle another meeting. Shuffling her papers, the older witch glanced sternly at the three fourth year students in question, and almost smiled at the familiarity of it all.

Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were practically mirror images of their fathers. Albus had the same unruly hair and the same brilliant green eyes. He had grown out of his insecurities, perfectly happy being ever the Slytherin with his partner in crime. He was a particularly bright student in Potions, and had his fathers ability to let trouble pat him on the back during every term. His quiet nature quite reminiscent of Harry, and opposite from his outgoing brother James – who was much like his mother Ginny in that he was a bit of a spitfire. Both Potter boys had especially inherited the -sometimes blind- loyalty of their parents.

To the right of Albus was his surprising choice of a best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. If it weren't for the pony-tailed hair, one could say that Draco Malfoy's fourteen year old self had returned to Hogwarts to wreck havoc. His friendship with Albus had a shaky start and Minerva had at first feared that a war between the two would erupt much like it had with their fathers. It was to her surprise that after a particularly frightening detention with Professor Firenze in their first year that the two became joined at the hip. She still wondered sometimes what the old centaur did to cause such an unlikely bond. The friendship that Scorpius had with Albus made him a much kinder student and although the arrogant airs of a Malfoy were still there, he was nothing like his father at that age. While that was something to breathe a sigh of relief for, unfortunately, the Malfoy's mischievous nature had rubbed off on the Potter next to him over the years.

Then, there was Rose, the lone Gryffindor of the duo. She was painfully bright, and sought out knowledge much like her mother even if to a lesser degree. She took to others with a gentle yet firm hand, and her charismatic nature was an envy at her age. However, Minerva knew that Gryffindor tower trembled at the fourth years ability to work herself up into a mood. While most times the redhead was cool headed, she was horribly stubborn. Once the child made up her mind, not many could talk her down. It was that stubbornness that caused an uproar when Scorpius was entered into their group, as she took to him regardless of her father's wishes. Minerva looked sadly at her, her thoughts straying to the shift in behavior this year, making a note to ask Hermione about it after their meeting.

She returned to shuffling her papers together, when she heard the turning of the gargoyle. Looking up, she saw the boys faces fall at the sound, whereas Rose shifted in her seat and continued looking out the window. Her reaction made the headmistress frown; Rose usually looked ready to faint when her mother and father were called in.

She would definitely need to speak with Hermione about this.

"**ALBUS SEVERUS**!"

The headmistress took in a deep breath as Mrs. Potter made her way into the room.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Minerva, they did what?" Hermione asked her to repeat herself and Rose gulped as she watched her mothers hands grip the arms of the chair.

"They decided to prank Mr. Filch by turning his private quarters green and red. Then magicked all of his clothes silver and gold and had it dance around the room. Apparently, Mr. Filch had something of theirs, and had confiscated it last week. Ms. Weasley was attempting to retrieve it when they were caught." The headmistress reiterated.

Hermione took a deep calming breath whereas Ginny seemed to be positively seething at that point. She looked over to Harry who looked more like he wanted to laugh, and Draco who looked almost pleasant at hearing the treatment of a man they equally hated in school. She looked at her daughter once more, who avoided her eyes, looking as guilty as described.

"They attempted to steal what is considered Hogwarts property and usually the penalty for this is..." She paused, looking sadly at her former students.

"...suspension from school." Hermione watched as her best friend put a comforting squeeze on his wives shoulder.

"However, seeing as this is a new term, I've decided to be lenient and take their Hogsemeade privledges away. They've also lost 50 house points from of their respective houses, and will be serving detention every Tuesday and Friday until November."

Three collective gasps could be heard from the students, their eyes growing considerably wider.

"But headmaster-" Scorpius began pleadingly.

"Scorpius Malfoy, finish that sentence and I assure you that the only broom time you'll see is if the house elves need help cleaning." Draco reprimanded instantly. The usually arrogant boy's mouth shut so quickly that his teeth clicked and Harry had to refrain from smiling.

"He's right though, headmistress, please-" Rose began.

"Rose, I assure you that Mr. Malfoy is not the only one who will receive punishment should you decide to continue" Hermione told her curtly, her usually warm brown eyes sending a sharp knowing glare to her daughter. The young girl sat agape at her mother's unusual tone and she nodded, embarrassed that she had been reprimanded like that in front of her friends.

"Now, out with the three of you. I need to speak with your parents alone." Without any hesitation, the three stood up and bolted out of the room.

"Albus, you'd better be right outside of that gargoyle! You do NOT want to know what will happen if I have to look for you after we are done here." Ginny snapped, sounding so much like her mother that Draco rolled her eyes, and Hermione smiled. Harry stared at his son imploringly, as if saying _"why do you do this to your old man?"_

As the door closed, the headmistress sighed and soon the three Gryffindors in the room felt as if they were children once more, getting in trouble again. Draco looked at the woman as if he were bored already.

"I'm sorry to have to send you to the school after the first infraction, but after last years debacle, I'm afraid I'm going to have to be very firm this year." She said tiredly, looking suddenly older than the moment before. Harry cringed slightly as the memory of his son accidentally turning himself and his two friends into disfigured messes popped into his brain. They had heard about Hermione being able to conjure up a Polyjuice potion from the school ghost. The two boys wanted to impersonate one another while Rose just wanted to prove that she could do the potion like her mother did. It was with those misguided motives that they stole from Professor Zabini's storage and were found in the second floor bathroom just in time to be rushed off to St. Mungo's.

"I know they mean well-" The elderly woman stopped as Draco raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"Most days, anyway… I cannot allow the behavior to continue, especially when they are now idolized by the entire student body as the trio who…" She stopped again and a wiry smile came to her lips.

"Flipped the Filch." Harry and Draco smirked almost in unison, and although Hermione and Ginny tried not to smile as well, the tension in the room was cut substantially.

"Well, as far as we're concerned Prof- I'm sorry- Headmistress, Ginny and I will definitely be talking to Albus. You have our full support on whatever punishment he recieves." Harry assured her, grasping Ginny's hand. The redhead nodded her head, turning afterward to glare at the door where her son had left.

"We'll definitely be doing a lot more than talking to the pest." She told Hermione under her breath. Hermione looked over at Draco who nodded quietly in agreement.

"I'm afraid that's all you can do, they're at that age, I'm afraid." The headmistress said tiredly, standing up. The group of parents stood up as well and formally shook her hand, adjourning their unfortunate meeting.

"You're all more than welcome to join us for dinner tonight as I'm afraid that it is quite late. If not then the floo network will be up until midnight." She informed them, waving in a new batch of students that looked to be the Heads and Prefects. Hermione spotted her godson James in the fray and waved at him.

"Hermione, I'd like to set up a meeting with you and Mr. Weasley sometime this week if your schedule allows." She concluded, walking Hermione and Draco to the door while Harry and Ginny stayed back to hug their eldest son. Draco looked curious as he saw his former classmate stiffen before answering. The fact that she had arrived to the meeting without the man he called "the pitiful red mess" was not lost on him.

"Of course. I'll owl you as soon as I find out my schedule this week." The older witch smiled warmly at her favorite student, and nodded to Draco in goodbye.

Hermione sighed tiredly as they walked out of the Head's office and watched as Draco ran an annoyed hand through his hair.

"Here we are, again." She said pitifully, as they began walking down the spiraling steps.

Draco scoffed, and nodded his head.

"I swear, a part of me wishes corporal punishment on my own son." He grumbled jokingly, causing her to laugh. Her relationship with Draco had been a changed one since their children had become friends. Unlike Ron, she didn't mind it one bit when her daughter wrote to her about her best friend from Slytherin. Also, unlike Ron, she learned to get along with the father of said Slytherin, and actually enjoyed the many times that their children got together outside of school with parents involved.

When they reached the bottom of the steps they saw Albus waiting nervously for his parents. As he leaned against the wall with his eyes wide and his hair a mess, Hermione felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her.

_He looks so much like Harry._

She looked around for a second to see that their children had not waited for them. Draco cursed quietly under his breath as he realized the same thing.

"Al, where did he go?" Draco beckoned, the boy jumping slightly in surprise. He looked down in shame and ran his hand through his hair once more.

"Albus, you'd better tell him where Scorpius ran off to before you get in much more trouble." Hermione told him gently, placing a hand on the quiet boys shoulder. His green eyes looked up at her pleading, and if she didn't know any better, it was the exact same look that his father had given her on many occasions. She nodded again.

"I'll tell him your mum forced it out of you under threat of death." Draco offered lazily, and Hermione smiled at his effort.

"That's probably not to far from the truth, Mr. Malfoy. My mum's going to kill me." He said painfully, looking between the two adults. Hermione bit the urge to laugh at how the boy could go from a mischevious little chit to a genuinely shy and innocent boy in a snap.

"Too right, mate. So better you just tell me where he is than me telling your mum that you're withholding the information from me. Be a Slytherin about it. Enough of this Gryffindor rubbish about looking out for one another." Draco drawled, smirking at Hermione who rolled her eyes playfully. Albus smiled at him and a small chuckle released from his lips in relief.

"He's gone to the common room. The password is Bloody Baron." He said finally, a small smile on his lips.

Draco nodded and clapped the boys shoulder in thanks.

"See you at dinner." He said to Hermione before turning quickly to meet up with his son. Hermione nodded without thinking as she hadn't planned on staying until he said that. She turned her attention back to her nephew, and pulled him in for a hug. She felt him look for others in the hallway before clinging onto his aunt dearly.

"Aunt Hermione, I'm sorry. It wasn't Rosie's fault, I swear it. Scorp and I were only supposed to distract Filch while she got father's map but we went overboard and that's why we got caught. She just didn't want us to get into trouble so she took most of the blame." The young boy sounded on the verge of tears when Hermione released him.

"That's no excuse Al, you shouldn't have done it in the first place. Rose knows better as well." She stopped to see his devastated face and felt a little sorry for him. Hermione knew that Ginny could be a bit intimidating much like the Weasley matriarch had been when they were fourteen. He nodded and she rubbed his back until seeing the gargoyle turn once more, signaling his parents arrival. She felt him stiffen once more and squeezed his shoulder.

"Where is Rose, anyway?" She asked him.

He pointed down the hall, towards the library.

"I guess you can't scream at her in the library, eh, Aunt Mione?" He joked lamely, his smile vanishing as quickly as it came. She smirked at him, a gleam in her eye that was very much unlike her.

"Oh Albus, if that really is her reasoning, then I'm sorry to tell you that your cousin is very misinformed." She told him wickedly, her voice quiet. Harry stepped up next to them, his green eyes glaring at his son lightly before turning to Hermione.

"I'm afraid we can't stay for dinner in the Great Hall-" He paused to look at his son.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for your mother to be around you for too long." He told him vaguely, the young boy gulping audibly.

"Ah, Draco is staying and I guess I will as well. No sense in cooking a meal at home when you can have one at Hogwarts." She told him warmly. He looked around as if only realizing now that Rose and Scorpius were not with them. Hermione cut him off before he had a chance to ask.

"Apparently, Scorpius thought he'd get a head start on Draco and run to the dungeons and my daughter thinks that her mother is incapable of giving her a proper talking to if she's in the library." She informed him, slowly growing a bit irritated. Harry grinned at her and shook his head.

"She's not as brilliant as they say if that's what she thinks." He commented, remembering all too well when he had been in school. Hermione smirked, shrugging.

"Apparently." Harry looked over at Albus before answering.

"Well, I'll walk you to the library, give Albus some alone time with his mother. Seems fitting, seeing as his father is the one who will have to hear about it all night and all day for the next week. Whereas my son will only get an earful for the next hour." Albus turned another pale shade of white before nodding and Hermione gave him a look of pity.

"I'll see you at dinner Al, be sure to say goodbye to your favorite aunt before you go to the dungeons tonight." She told him, taking Harry's arm as he led her away from the boy.

Once they turned the corner and were out of earshot Harry let out a laugh. Hermione stopped and smiled at him, shaking her head.

"They're brilliant. They really are, Merlin, I wish I could've seen Filch's face." He said wistfully, his green eyes shining brightly. Hermione laughed a little and punched his shoulder lightly.

"Stop it. Just because it's funny doesn't make it right." He nodded, his laughs continuing as they walked down the hall arm in arm. She smiled at him and took in the castle reminiscing about the days when they used to walk these halls.

_So many good memories. _She thought to herself. When they reached the second to last turn before reaching the library she jumped at the realization that Harry was snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"Still here?" He asked playfully. She nudged him, nodding.

"Sorry, just thinking." He nodded, looking thoughtful before quickly pulling her into one of the abandoned classrooms.

"Harry-"

"How've you been?" She tensed instantly, knowing how much deeper the question actually was.

_Not here, not minutes before I talk to Rose._

"Harry, please, we can talk about this later. It's really just-" She stopped when he glared at her for lying to him and she was reminded why she'd been avoiding everyone, especially Harry. She let out a long breath and slid atop the table, her head in her hands and her feet dangling off the edge. He didn't understand how hard it was to talk to any of them without thinking about the entire situation. Harry wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back, much like she had done to Albus earlier. She stiffened under his touch at first, and gradually relaxed, hoping she wouldn't cry.

"Does he know about today?" He asked quietly, allowing her to tuck her head under his chin. She nodded, slowly.

"I owled him as soon as I found out. He said he wouldn't be able to make it to the school, but that he would owl her tomorrow." Her voice sounded bitter and she almost didn't recognize it. Harry clenched his jaw, reminding himself that he would not bad mouth his wifes brother at the moment.

"I just, what if Rose…this is all my fault. She's going through so much and I can't get my own daughter to talk to me about it. I shouldn't have pushed her to go back to school after they had just found out. Hugo was okay, he was ready to go back, but Rosie...my Rose…" She trailed off, and Harry hugged her tighter.

"Hey, we talked about it, remember? They had to get back to a normal routine after Ron left. I know it was only a couple weeks before school started, but it wouldn't do you or them any good to make everything else irregular."

She shook her head defiantly into his robes.

"I could've held them back a little to help them heal. It's like I just…shipped them off to deal with it on their own."

Harry shushed her patiently, shaking his head and mentally cursing her soon to be ex-husband.

"Even being here…there's so many memories of us. I just…" She trailed off, the two best friends staying like that until they heard footsteps approaching.

* * *

Outside of the classroom, Rose Weasley stood in one of the dark alcoves in the hallway listening to her mother talking to her Uncle Harry through an extendable ear. Luckily for Rose, Scorpius kept one with him at all times being the sneak that he was. It was when Rose felt guilty for leaving Albus and made her way back to the gargoyle that they saw her Uncle pull her mum into the classroom.

She bit her nails as her she looked down at the extendable ear, looking at Scorpius every now and then for assurance. He gave none. Instead, Scorpius looked at her as if he shouldn't be hearing Mrs. Weasley crying to Albus Potter's dad like that. He had other things to worry about right now, for he sent his father on a wild goose chase in order to check on Rosie.

He hoped that his lie to Albus had worked and that his father was heading down to the dungeons right now. He mentally groaned at the thought of how peeved the elder Malfoy would be in a half hour.

"Maybe we should get going, Ro-" The Gryffindor glared at him, meaning that he needed to be quiet, and he threw his hands up at her.

"Father's going to bury me ali- OW" He hissed as he felt a sharp flick to the top of his ear. Rose's eyes widened at what (or rather who) was behind his back. Holding the offended ear, his eyes widened as well and he knew his father was standing behind him.

_Shit._

"Rose, I suggest you go to library where your mother will expect to find you." Draco drawled, his eyes flashing at the pair. He had heard enough of his ex-classmates conversation to know that it was definitely not something they should be listening to. Rose stood frozen, looking at Scorpius as if she didn't want to leave him alone to get in trouble, and Draco had to roll his eyes at how much the girl looked like her mother in that instant.

"I'm sure your mother would not like it if she found out you were eavesdropping." He reached down and grabbed the extendable ear from her hand, and the girl nodded quickly before giving Scorpius a last look of apology and running down the hall.

Draco looked at the back of his sons head and thought evilly for a second that the best punishment for his son would be to force him to "cut his damned hair." That threat would've made him act a lot differently in school at his age. Scorpius turned around and feigned innocence cause Draco raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't think I look like Harry Potter so don't try his sons tactics on me." The boy nodded fearfully and Draco stared him down icily causing his son to shift under his gaze. He broke off the glare with a long tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Scorpius, what are you doing? I mean really, son, I know it was for that stupid map that James Potter brags about. If you wanted the thing back so badly why'd you go off and make some huge display out of it? AND you dragged Rose Weasley into it? And then you let the girl listen to her mother crying in another room?" The boys head ducked in shame.

"We made a deal, Scor, remember? This year had was going to be different, especially after you three nearly killed yourselves in that stupid Polyjuice potion incident last year. You think this punishment is hard? I'll take away your broom, Scor, and I'll break it in two. The next time I have to come in here, Puddlemere United Camp during the summer is done, you won't be going. On top of that, you can forget about seeing your friends on your holiday if this keeps up." The boy's head shot up and he looked as if he were ready to cry.

Draco softened a bit although he was angry he knew his point had been made. He put a hand on the back of his sons neck and squeezed it lightly.

"I expect better from you." He whispered, pulling his son to him for a quick hug. After a moment, he let go, and clapped his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. Honestly, I am." Scorpius told him as the two began walking down the hall.

"So, what did it look like when the old wart face saw his clothes?" Draco asked under his breath as a group of teachers walked by.

Scorpius smiled and made to answer him when the classroom door opened and Hermione and Harry stepped out. Scorpius ducked his head down once more, not sure whether his father would tell her that they had overheard their conversation. Hermione looked over at Scorpius suspiciously.

"Scorpius, I thought you were supposed to be down at the dungeons."

"His old man isn't as daft as he thinks. He was with Rose in the library." Draco told her, shooting a meaningful look to his son. Hermione made a small noise of disapproval, and Scorpius' face flushed a bit.

"I was just checking on her. I'm sorry we got her into so much trouble Ms. Weasley. It wasn't her fault." He told her lamely, causing Hermione to smile and pat him on the shoulder. Draco rolled his eyes at his son a part of it in amusement and part of it in exasperation.

"Seems like everyone isn't giving Rose her due share of responsibility, even Albus said the same thing." She told Harry who smiled as well.

"Yes, I'm beginning to think the two of them should've ended up in Hufflepuff seeing as they're so damned loyal." Draco joked coolly, saying the last word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. Truth be told, it was times like this when Draco wished he could see Lucius rolling in his grave over his son's lack of a traditional Malfoy-esque attitude. Hermione pulled the boy in for a quick hug and shook her head at the two men.

"Scorpius Malfoy, don't you dare listen to them. You and Albus are becoming gentlemen, don't try to mimic these two old louts." She warned jokingly and the boy reddened but grinned as she let go. Draco rolled his eyes while Harry only laughed.

Hermione walked down the hall, only to hear Draco and Harry start asking Scorpius about what it looked like when Filch found his clothes dancing to greet him. She smiled to herself and shook her head, heading towards her former sanctuary.

_I don't think Hogwarts ever thought they'd see that happen._

* * *

The anguish Hermione felt faded momentarily as the smell of books reached her senses. A smile slipped over her lips as she was welcomed by the golden sight of the Hogwarts library. After the Final Battle, a lot had to be rebuilt and Hermione had been the one to head up the project. Most people who went through it lovingly called it the Granger library.

She grinned to herself as she remembered the days and nights slaving away studying for her exams. She could see herself in the corners, busily scribbling away research in her second year. She remembered how terrified she'd been to find out that a basilisk had been the reason behind the petrified students or yelling at Harry over his procrastination in the second task during the Triwizard Tournament. She remembered how she buried her tears in here with Madame Pince after Ron and Harry refused to speak to her over the Firebolt she'd gotten taken away.

It didn't take long for her to find Rose. A wave of sadness washed over Hermione as she spotted her daughter sitting at "her" table, staring at the waving portrait on the wall. It had been taken before the war and the Headmistress had it placed in the library after the renovations. In two separate frames were the original members of the Order, and below it were the original members of Dumbledore's Army.

Her daughter was petite, much like her mother and her Aunt Ginny. Her hair was long and thick and while it had been "Weasley Red" at birth, it was now a more subtle auburn shade which currently braided down her back. Hermione admired how confident the her girl was, something she definitely did not have at that age.

_My beautiful girl._

She placed a gentle hand on her daughters shoulder, and the girl turned around, startled; her face flushed when she realized it was her mother. Hermione sat across from her, not saying anything at first, and stared at the two photos. The younger witch squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, hating that she disappointed her mother again.

"Mum..." She started. Hermione turned slightly, acknowledging her with a look to continue. Rose felt her face go red again and began to babble.

"Mum, I'm-" She stopped when Hermione reached over and grasped her hands gently, looking searchingly at her daughter's face.

"I love you, Rose. Do you know that?" Hermione asked quietly.

She nodded, her lip quivering as guilt swept through her.

"I love you too, mum." She whispered, cursing herself for causing her mother anymore pain and angry that her voice sounded so small. She had only done it to make her father angry, to get back at him. She had hoped that he'd work himself up over it only for him to be a no show. It hadn't occurred to her that her mother would have to handle everything on her own now. Hermione, cupped her daughter's face gently and smiled sadly, interrupting her daughters mental argument with herself.

"You know, no matter what happens between your father and I, he does love you very much. Even though we aren't together, he'll always be your dad." She said quietly. Rose looked away, her eyes tearing up at the words, and she shook her head.

"I hate him." Rose hissed, her voice cracking slightly, causing Hermione to wince slightly. She turned her daughters head to her once more and had to catch her breath at how much her daughters blue eyes resembled her fathers.

"I won't tell you what to feel Rose, because no one can tell you that but you. I just hope for your sake that you don't let yourself be steered by hate, because you'll be hurting the wrong people. Worse off, if something happens because your trying to get back at your father, the only person you can blame is yourself, and I don't think you want that." She stopped and wiped away the few tears from her daughter's face.

"I don't want you looking in the mirror and seeing a person who has based all of their actions from a misguided hate." She pointed to the pictures on the wall before looking back at her daughter.

"A lot of good people died because of someone who was like that." She finished quietly, her own eyes beginning to tear up. Rose nodded, trying to wipe the tears off of her face as quickly as possible. She hiccupped slightly, and glared at the worried look that the Ron in the picture was giving her, and childishly the young Gryffindor stuck her tongue out at him. Hermione chuckled slightly and shook her head.

_Sometimes she's more like the old Ron than she thinks._

Hermione stood up, walking around the table and enveloped her daughter in a tight hug. Rose closed her eyes, feeling instant comfort from her mother, and the pair stood like that for a long time. When Hermione finally broke the embrace, she cupped her daughter's face in both hands and smiled. She tipped her daughter's head upwards and straightened her shoulders, taking on a no nonsense stance.

"This doesn't change the face that your allowance is cut off for the next two months. I really don't think you want to know what your punishment will be if you get suspended. In fact, I don't think you want to know what will happen if I have to return here for anything like this. Do we understand each other?" She told Rose firmly, causing her to smile weakly. Hermione let her go, sighing tiredly as her shoulders dropped once more.

"Good. You know, those boys are the worst Slytherins I've ever met. They both said that you had to be dragged into their little scheme and although I do not condone what you did...I must say, those were rather advanced charms." She commented dryly causing Rose to giggle.

"Thanks mum."

"Next time, focus your energy on something constructive. Although, I'm sure your uncles will have a laugh or two when they hear about your exploits." Hermione scowled slightly as the Fred and George in the photo whooped and cheered causing Rose to smile as the two made their way out of the library.

"I'm sorry, mum. I swear you'll get no bad reports from the headmistress." Rose promised as the walked to the Great Hall. Hermione squeezed her slightly.

"I would think not. If I were you, I'd be expecting a howler from your grandmother." The girl winced but was slightly comforted in the fact that Albus would be receiving one as well.

"Mum? Hey!" Hermione looked up to see her son jogging towards them and smiled as he threw his arms around her.

"Hugo! I swear you've grown so much in only a month." She ruffled his light brown hair before letting him go. She felt oddly at peace being at her true home with her children. The boy grinned up at her and then turned to Rose.

"So the rumor is true then? You really blew up Flich's room!" He asked Rose, sounding horribly in awe of the deed. Hermione laughed as the girl gaped at him in shock and shook her head.

"I see news travels faster than ever in Hogwarts."

* * *

Hermione waved at her two children as she made her way to the professor's table where Draco was sitting quietly. She smiled as he stood up and pulled out her chair for her, helping her in before returning to his seat.

"It's good to know there are still some gentleman out in the sea." She joked, watching the students fill into the hall.

"There aren't many left of us. You know, I love how some of them were brought up to apparently have no manners." Draco drawled, looking at the students who were currently whispering and pointing at the two adults in an obvious fashion. Hermione snickered into her napkin slightly, and nodded in agreement while Draco shot them a slight sneer.

"That's Hogwarts." She said cynically, raising her glass at the gossipers, causing them to quickly turn away. Draco tapped his glass against hers, nodding in agreement.

"So, Draco, how are things at your firm?" Hermione asked politely as the food appeared onto the table. He groaned loudly causing her to smile.

"That good, huh?"

He snorted slightly and re-filled her a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Fall interns from the University have just started, and blimey, it's like a stampede of hippogriffs without heads. You'd think they were a bunch of first years with the way they go through cauldrons." He grumbled while Hermione nodded in agreement.

"The emergency ward got their share of fall interns as well, it gets harder to have the patience with them each year. You would think if one signed up to be a healer, they'd be able to stomach the sight of blood." She tipped her cup to him as if to say 'cheers' and he readily agreed, tipping his cup against hers for the second time of the night.

They ate quietly at first, small talk here and there between bites when Lily came running up to the table.

"Aunt Hermione, mum told me to tell you she'll see you tomorrow. She was in a right foul mood before she left, so I think she'll want to unload on you." The girl rambled, causing Hermione to blink at her in confusion before the slur of words made sense. Draco stared at her before shaking his head and returning to his dinner.

"I'm sure she will. Your cousin and your brother-"

"And their idiot friend." Draco added under his breath, causing Hermione to laugh.

"They aren't in either of their mother's good graces tonight." She told her

"Aunt 'Mione, where's Uncle Ron?"

She coughed suddenly on her food and Draco filled her cup once more, watching as she paled at the question. She shot him a look of thanks before taking the juice and soothing her throat. Lily looked at her expectantly, looking exactly like her mother, when Draco smoothly intervened.

"Ms. Potter, I believe there's a lad over there who is vying for your attentions" He pointed out to the Ravenclaw table causing Lily to squeak out a thank you before waving goodbye, her question slipping from her mind as she quickly left. A wave of relief washed over her as she watched the young girl leave distracted.

A thick silence fell upon the two former enemies and Hermione fiddled with the napkin anxiously watching her appetite fly out the window.

"I see that Al's sister has her mother's knack for speaking at a rate which normal humans do not." Draco said finally, continuing to eat. Hermione let out a breath that she didn't realize she had held and smiled warmly.

"That she does." She told him quietly, eating her food although she were no long hungry. He nodded and the awkward silence was replaced with a much more comfortable kind.

* * *

Hermione laughed as Scorpius did another impression of their new Divination professor. Privately, she marveled at the similarities in the father and sons appearance. She did note that Draco always looked much happier and much younger when he was around his son. It was amazing how different Scorpius was from his father when his father was in their fourth year, and how much Draco had changed now that he was older. He might be spoiled, a bit of a whiner, and arrogant but he was also funny, charming and genuine.

Rose giggled behind her hand, looking completely content in the conversation amongst her friends and family. It made her mother sad realizing how much she missed her children when they were away at school. They had spent so much time together, just the three of them, before their Hogwarts letters arrived and now she ached to see them when any of the holidays came. It made her wonder how her parents must have felt whenever she would leave early during the summer to be at the Burrow.

A chime from the clock tower rung causing the children around the table to groan, and snapped Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Dad, being that you're a parent, you can extend our curfew for just this one night." Scorpius quipped, turning to his father who shook his head with a smirk, pushing his sons forehead lazily.

"After the charade you caused? Not bloody likely." Draco scoffed, mussing the boys hair until he managed to swat his father's hand away. Albus laughed, causing Scorpius to shove him slightly, muttering something along the lines of 'shut up' and 'prat'.

Hermione turned to her own two children to see a set of brown and blue eyes looking up at her pleadingly. She shook her head, eyebrows raised.

"You two have rather large imaginations if you think that's happening." Hermione scolded lightly, chucking as the two teens made rather long faces. They exchanged embraces, Rose nearly squeezing the life out of her, and promised to write as soon as possible. She waved goodbye to them sadly as James took them to the Gryffindor tower whilst another prefect took the two Slythern's to the dungeons.

She sighed before turning to see Draco looking quite sad as well. He blinked at her dumbly, realizing that she was looking at him, before straightening up. When she smiled at him, he shrugged slightly but nodded in a silent agreement.

_They grow up too quickly._

"Fancy a walk?" He offered as they walked towards the Hogwarts entrance hall.

"Fresh air sounds nice."

As they exited the school and onto the grounds of the beloved school, she could feel the chill of the Fall air sweep over them. While she cast a warming spell over them, Draco transfigured their dinner forks into an exquisite silver latern that floated in front of them shedding a dim but helpful light ahead.

"Impressive." She complimented. He nodded in thanks, and the two walked around the familiar school grounds, making small talk about their respective work and other such things.

"It's beautiful tonight."

Just as they made their way to the lake front, she sat down on the slightly damp grass. Draco looked at the grass and at his robes, taking a second to decide if he wanted to join her and soil his robes. The answer made itself clear to him as he saw her starring out ahead looking far sadder than she were before. She was starring afar at the dimly moonlit covered grave for their former headmaster.

With a quiet sigh, he sat down next to her, starring at it as well. The death of Albus Dumbledore was something that would be a heavy memory for him to carry. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at it any longer, until Hermione's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You know for all of the places I've been, Hogwarts seems to have the best piece of sky."

He opened his eyes to see the witch was now leaning back onto her elbows looking up at the heavens.

_What a strange pair we make, the ex-death eater and the war hero._ He told himself, leaning back to look up at the sky, he shook his head as he realized that she was all too right. The sky at Hogwarts couldn't be topped. Without meaning to, his eyes traveled towards her naked hand and his thoughts went to what he overhead Rose and Scorpius listening to earlier.

"Ron and I will be getting a divorce, if you were wondering." Hermione said suddenly, breaking him out of his reverie. He didn't know if she had seen him look at her or if she was just speaking aloud for her eyes were still upward at the sky.

He raised an eyebrow at her in the dark and she took his silence as a means to continue.

"We split about two weeks before the kids needed to go back to school. Not so much split as imploded." She sighed slightly and in that moment had absolutely no qualms about baring her soul to Draco Malfoy. Draco's eyes widened slightly, and he clasped his hands over his stomach, listening. She shook her hair out of her collar and looked up at the sky once more.

"Rose and Hugo will be having a step-mum soon as well. Hugo seems to be taking it alright, although I was a bit surprised when Lily asked about Ron. I assumed he'd have told her by now, seeing as they're so close. Rose on the other hand, I imagine she feels horribly betrayed by Ron…they were always very close, until recently." She stopped and turned to look at him, and Draco suddenly felt unhinged by her sad stare.

"I know that people will think that I knew about the affair and was one of those stupid women who stayed with an asshole for the sake of marriage, but I'm not. I could never be that woman. I knew nothing of it, even though looking back on it there were more than a few big hints out there. I know that there's no such thing as 'out of the blue he cheated'. Rose walked in on her father kissing another woman in her bedroom, a woman who had been in their lives since they were babies. Sick thing is, Draco, up until my daughter ran down stairs screaming bloody murder…" She trailed off and he found himself staring at her face as she looked back up into the sky.

"I thought we were happy. It's a bit disgusting that you can look back after everything is torn apart and realize there was nothing quite whole about it to begin with."

When she ended it felt as if a burden had been lifted off of her and she let out a long breath.

"Who?"

Hermione looked at him blankly, surprised by the sound of his voice after so much silence on his part.

"I mean, who was it? Who's the bugger going to marry?"

She stared at him strangely, and he stared back.

"Does it matter?" Her voice was light, and he nodded.

"Of course it does."

She sighed, and nodded finally, agreeing.

"I guess you're right. It was Lavender. Lavender Finnegan." She told him quietly. Draco fought the urge to make a disgusted face. She was a secretary for one of the directors in the Potions firm.

There was a long, calm silence between them before he finally said something to her.

"I guess I'll be calling you Granger again." He said nonchalantly. Hermione turned to look at him and Draco's jaw clenched as he saw for the first time that night that her smile had reached her eyes. The unhinged feeling hit him once more as the private smile she shared with him seemed to knock the wind out of him. She fell back onto the grass, laying down completely and laughing genuinely.

"I guess you can, Malfoy. I guess you can."

* * *

A/N: This is my first Fan Fic, and I hope everyone enjoys it and reviews! I've finished chapters 2 and 3 and will be posting them in the next few days. Please, please review! I'd really like all the feedback I can get. Thank you!- _Alyssa_

**(Update 3/29/11)**_ - I'm editing all of the chapters before adding on the newest one. Thank you to all of the readers and reviewers who are still interested in this story. - Alyssa_


	2. A Not So Clean Divorce

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

* * *

**_Two weeks later_**

Hermione rushed over to the café, apologizing profusely as she nearly knocking over an innocent diner. Looking around, she threw up her hands in relief as she finally saw Ginny waving her down at the other end of the restaurant.

"Hermione, you look like you've gone mad." She couldn't tell if Ginny was amused or concerned as the redhead pulled her into a famous Weasley hug. Hermione dropped her bag, grumbling to herself as she got tangled in her scarf, and fell into the seat eagerly.

"I haven't sat down in hours." She said, exhausted.

Ginny laughed at her before Hermione finally glared at her playfully and grabbed the menu.

"Honestly, Quidditch is such a vile sport sometimes. Apparently the Falmouth Falcons went at it again after the score was dreadfully in favor of the Wasps. So it was in no time that my emergency ward was filled with spoiled, arrogant, and whinny quidditch players. Thank Merlin you got out of that damned sport when the kids were born because if I had to fix you up every other game, I'm sure I'd just let you suffer." She rambled on while Ginny watched her in amusement as the brunette talked with her hands to make her point.

"Really? I was thinking of starting it back up again. You know, to get into shape." She joked, struggling to keep a straight face. Hermione's eyes widened and at a lost for words she began hitting her best friend atop her head with the lunch menu. Ginny squealed, laughing as she put her arm up as a shield.

"I'm kidding!" Ginny protested between laughs as Hermione lifted the menu once more. A stern "eh-hem" from one of the waiters caused both witches to look around and see that they had a rather large audience. A red blush filled Hermione's face instantly and she choked out an apology before sinking into her chair and hiding her face behind the menu.

Ginny continued to laugh at her and Hermione found a smile creeping up on her face.

"Are you always so violent, Hermione?" Ginny snickered into her hand, and Hermione peeked her head out from the menu.

"I have a half a mind to do it again." She joked.

The two ordered, and soon the conversation was in full flow.

"James has yet another girlfriend, sometimes I do wish he were more like Albus in that sense."

"Hugo told me that Terry Boot's boy has been chasing after Rosie, its sweet really, I guess he fancies her quite a bit. Her bodyguards apparently don't like this new information, especially her blonde bodyguard."

"I swear, Lily drives me insane sometimes. I never thought I would be tired from just READING a letter. I love my little girl but she can ramble for hours if you give her the chance."

"...and the boy fell on me, Gin! He's a six foot something intern from the University and he actually fainted at the sight of the woman giving birth."

"I'm so glad we stopped at three children, I don't know how mum did it, raising the lot of us."

The two continued to gab until the lunch was long gone and their coffees had finished as well.

"Merlin, I didn't realize how much I missed our Tuesday and Friday lunches. It's been so busy at the shop that I think it might be time to hire someone else on."

Hermione nodded in agreement. The Gillyweed (named more as a running joke than anything else) was the thriving business that Ginny and Neville had co-founded. It was there that they sold an array of medicinal plants and Neville's own remedies and was quickly becoming famous for their tea. It allowed both people to do what they do best and avoid doing what they were horrible at. Neville enjoyed not dealing with other people, content to work with his plants while Ginny happily handled everything else under their small shop roof.

"You look better, 'mione." Ginny commented softly. Hermione shrugged and knowing that the conversation was about to take the turn she'd been avoiding, she looked at her watch for the time.

"It's been about two months. I couldn't wallow in my own pity. Rose and Hugo need to know that I'm staying strong; I don't want my children worrying for their mother. It's bad enough that Rose hasn't spoken to her father since before she left for school." Hermione told her firmly, wanting to answer the least amount of questions possible.

"Seamus hasn't been taking it very well, apparently Lavender took out a wizard's restraining decree on him. He told Hannah about it while he was drunk at the Leaky Cauldron. Hannah passed it on to Neville, then onto me." She whispered, causing Hermione to shake her head sadly.

The last time Hermione saw Seamus was just after they both found out about their spouses affair. He had apparated to her home in a fury, screaming outside of her home that he was going to kill Ron. It was to her classmate's surprise when Hermione stormed out of her house with her own wand, ready to attack, screaming at him about how he dared bring violence to her home in front of her children. It was lucky timing for him that Harry had arrived at the house minutes before and took him away before Hermione could turn him into something unpleasant.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hermione told her, running a hand through her hair.

"The divorce proceedings start tomorrow then? Are you sure you don't want me to-" Hermione waved her hand to cut her off.

"Gin, I'm positive. Michael Corner is a very talented attorney and he has assured me that everything will go off without a hitch tomorrow. I already said that I don't want to play 'this is mine' and 'I bought that' or even 'you're a lying cheating bastard and I deserve it more than you.' I just want it to be a quick and smooth process so that we're done with this and the kids and I can move on." Her voice sounding much like her former transfiguration teacher turned headmistress.

"And custody of the kids?"

"It's been settled." She told her curtly, trying not to think of it any longer.

Ginny nodded in defeat and pat her hand and she studied her friend sadly before saying anything.

"You have my full support, Hermione. I'll have dinner set for you when it's all done…" She trailed off, her eyes tearing and Hermione looked at her in question.

"Ginny-" The younger woman shook her head, dabbing her eyes quickly with her napkin.

"It's like I'm losing a sister. Merlin, I hate Ron, I really do."

Hermione bit down on the inside of cheek and quickly threw the necessary galleons on the table. She stood up, pulling Ginny out of her seat for a hug. In the back of her mind, she knew that the last thing she needed was a very public crying scene between Harry Potter's wife and a soon to be ex-Hermione Weasley.

"Gin, we'll never be rid of one another. We're always going to be sisters, I promise." She reassured her gently, giving Ginny a smile as she let go. Ginny nodded, straightening herself up.

"I'm getting soft in my old age." She joked, causing Hermione to laugh.

"Hey, I'm older than you are, so don't start." Hermione told her, poking her side as they made their way out of the restaurant.

Ginny hooked arms with Hermione and the two witches walked through Diagon Alley. The brunette witch groaned as she saw the slew of reporters waiting in front of The Gillyweed. They must've found out that she'd flooed in from there, and was on her way back. They quickly ducked into Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, peaking through the glass at the spectacle in front of the shop.

"You'd think that I was some sort of rock star." Hermione grumbled, remembering the magazines that the girls in her dorm used to salivate at.

"Two third's of the the trio that brought down the darkest wizard of our time is going through a crappy divorce with each other, it sort of makes you a rock star." Ginny told her bluntly.

"Bloody vultures, wouldn't you say?" A voice said from behind her. The two women jumped slightly, and Hermione smiled as she saw Draco Malfoy standing behind them.

"What are you doing here? Ice cream break?" Hermione asked him.

"Here on business, unfortunately. I'd tell you but it's all secret ice cream stuff. Top secret." Draco told them sarcastically, causing both women to laugh. Leaning closer to the glass, he made a face of displeasure at seeing the group of reporters in front of the shop.

"I seem to remember someone was a bit close with reporters before." Hermione told him as she watched him look out the window. A smile lifted on her face as he turned his head to scowl at her lightly.

"Yes, I'd suggest if we're going back to that, you could always slap them each in the face to make them go away. If I remember correctly, that is." He joked back, smirking as Hermione reddened and Ginny let out a laugh.

"I guess you have always been the violent type, Hermione." Ginny quipped, earning her a whack on the arm.

"You can't apparate?" Draco asked.

"The apparition wards are up around the hospital for the next couple hours while they fix the current apparation points. They're trying to make it safer because of all of the heavy traffic into the hospital. And..."

"Seeing as I wouldn't like a burglar to just pop into my shop in the middle of the night, we don't allow apparating at all." Ginny finished for her with Hermione rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"Alright, I'm not going to let you walk through that by yourself. So let's get on with it." Hermione grumbled, hooking Ginny's arm once more and giving a strained smile to Draco. As the duo pushed though the shop Hermione was grateful when she felt Ginny squeeze her arm comfortingly before pressing on towards the fray of cameras reluctantly. One of the reporters caught sight of them and soon the onslaught of people started running towards them. Absently, Hermione wondered how their quick quotes quill's didn't poke any of them in the eye with such a shoulder to shoulder crowd.

"Mrs. Weasley! Mrs. Weasley! How do you plan on handling your court date tomorrow?"

"Did Mr. Weasley ever hit you?"

"Mrs. Potter, is your brother devastated to know you've chosen his ex-wife over him?"

"Mrs. Weasley, what are your demands for your divorce settlement?

"Mrs. Weasley is true that your husband had an affair?"

"What does your husband have to say about the events transpiring between his friends, Mrs. Potter?"

"Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione continued to walk, trying to force her way to the entrance of The Gillyweed while Ginny yelled at them to back away from her shop before she summoned the authorities. It was then that an obnoxious man with pudgy cheeks and horn rimmed glasses stood in front of her repeatedly taking picture after picture of the two witches. Hermione tried to get around him put the camera in her face caused her to step back into crowd. The grinding of her teeth barely kept her from cursing the man in front of her, and she tried to cover her eyes. It was when she stumbled forward, disoriented from the flashes that she felt a cool hand on her elbow.

"Draco, we can't push through." She heard Ginny tell him.

"Mr. Malfoy, what is your involvement with Mrs. Weasley? Do you have anything to do with their divorce!"

"Move sir or I'll have you arrested for harassment." He told the cameraman icily, his tone reminiscent of Lucius Malfoy. She looked up to see that his face was angry and cold, giving her chills at how different he appeared. The man quickly made room for them to pass, snapping pictures only once their backs were to them. She watched as Neville rushed to open the door, yelling at people to stay out and quickly the three walked in, slamming the door as they closed it. Hermione's head pounded and she was vaguely aware of Ginny drawing the curtains on the glass door and windows, blocking pictures from being taken from outside. The redhead was fuming, yelling at the people as she closed the windows about leaving her alone.

"Disgusting!" Ginny grumbled.

She didn't look up until the cool hand left her skin, only to see Draco looking down at her.

"Thank you, you didn't have to -" She started telling him before Ginny yelled out over her.

"Neville, we might as well close up shop for today. Who knows when those idiots will leave and none of our actual customers can get through." They could faintly hear Neville's quiet agreement as Ginny continued to mutter to herself while starting to tend to her shop.

"I'm sorry about all of this Neville, I didn't mean for you to have to close early." Hermione apologized.

"Oh, it's no-"

"Hermione, really, it's no trouble at all. Neville, why don't you make them some tea-" Ginny interrupted, rambling on to herself.

Neville smiled, shaking his head at the woman, leaning down to whisper to her. "Might as well call her Molly."

He gave her shoulder a squeeze as they shared a knowing grin and left to fetch them tea. She turned her attention back to Draco who stood patiently next to her.

"Like I was saying, thank you, you didn't have to do that. You'll have to excuse Ginny, she'd say thank you but she's a bit busy fussing over things." Hermione told him with a smile. He snorted, watching the redhead for a second before turning back to her.

"I guess now you'll have to remember things differently when it comes to me and being chummy with reporters. Besides, my son would kill me if he knew I let his best girl's mum get trampled. I imagine Rose would be displeased."

"I'm really sorry about that, I'm afraid Rose can be a little thick at times. She's a bit useless when it comes to your son."

"Well most Weasleys are useless anyways, so it's a good thing you'll be a Granger again."

She surprised herself when she started to laugh and shook her head. He gave her a small grin, showing that he had only meant it as a jest. The two accepted their cups of tea as Neville made his way over to her with a cup of tea for both of them. Draco looked at the strange smelling cup with a badly hidden look of disgust and Hermione grinned as she was glad for the instant distraction from the people outside still waiting for her.

"Be nice, my children are still Weasleys." She chastised, accepting the cup with a quick peck on the cheek. Draco snorted, nodding thank you.

"Well, that's a shame for them. I'm just glad that my son is only friends with one Weasley, its bad enough his best mate is a Potter." Hermione rolled her eyes at how silly that statement sounded now, even though years ago it would have made perfect sense. He put his nose close to the steaming green cup and recoiled in disgust.

"You drink this bile?" He asked her in a low hiss.

"Trust me, it smells horrible but it's amazing. Neville knows his tea." She reassured him as she took a small sip, instantly feeling better. He sniffed it once more before bringing the cup to his lips and soon he looked at it in slight awe. The two quietly sat drinking their tea, talking about their children until it was time to leave. She led him behind the counter into the office areas and towards the fireplace to floo home, waving goodbye to Ginny and Neville.

"Thank you, again, for doing that earlier. It's become a bit of a circus going out in public, I'm afraid. I'm glad that the Dennis Creevy took over the Prophet and fixed it up or else I'd be afraid what they'd have to say about it. Witch Weekly, unfortunately, is having a great time selling lots of magazines. I dare say I've never seen so many pictures of me coming in and out of work, and the market. I'll be glad when it's over." She told him, searching for the floo powder then going on the tips of her toes when she spotted it on the top shelf. She strained to grasp the jar and cursed quietly when she realized she wouldn't reach it.

Draco walked up behind her and she let out a surprised "oh" when she felt his chest press against her back for second, as he easily grasped the jar. Her hair tickled his face and he could smell the shampoo she used. The contact was gone quickly and Hermione shrugged off the strange flip her stomach did in that instant. She wrote it off as it being an unexpected touch that surprised her and turned around looking unaffected.

"All of you tall people in here have no respect for us people of short stature." She joked, and he chuckled.

"Yeah, watch out for chandeliers, Granger." He told her, placing the jar atop the shelf once more after they both grabbed their floo powder. He shook his head at her, a small smile on his lips.

Just as Hermione was going to say goodbye, he interrupted her.

"Good luck tomorrow. I'll be around the judicial branch around the same time for work." Hermione smiled at him sadly and nodded. For some odd reason she felt it might make her feel better if he was able to sit in on her trial alongside Harry. A part of her wouldn't have minded having him being there if only for the fact that it would annoy Ron immensely.

"The proceedings start at noon, it'll just be Harry there on my behalf." She told him quietly, not extending nor denying him an invitation. He seemed to take the hint and nodded silently, before mentioning a goodbye and leaving through the fireplace.

She whispered a thank you as she followed suit.

* * *

It gave her great relief that she hadn't eaten anything yet. The way her stomach was turning nervously, she was sure that she would have retched all over the court room area. Ron hadn't arrived yet, and she turned behind her to Harry. The wizard leaned over the rail and grasped her hand to comfort her. She attempted a smile, and he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You'll get through this. Then it'll be over, and you can move on. A clean slate for you and the kids." He whispered. Harry felt a rush of anger seep into him as he saw Hermione's fear shinning through her brown eyes. He hoped he could get through the process without cursing her soon to be ex-husband.

Just as the thought arrived in his head, he turned around at the sound of the doors opening; He glared at the arriving party. A stern and pudgy Marietta Edgecombe led the way, her red blonde hair in a tight knot above her head, and Harry thought she looked ten years older than her actual age. He smirked evilly as he spotted the small scars from the SNEAK jinx that stayed with her all throughout the years. While it reminded him not to mess with Hermione's spell work, it gave him pleasure to know that the nasty student-turned-lawyer still carried the scars with her.

_Serves her right._

His focus on Marietta changed quickly as he spotted Ron coming up behind her. He barely recognized his "best friend" as his hair combed back (reminiscent of a younger Draco Malfoy) in brand new expensive robes. Most of all he couldn't believe that he had the nerve to walk in hand in hand with Lavender Finnegan. Ron looked nervous as he entered the courtroom and Harry watched as his gaze went from the head judge's seat to the back of Hermione's head then to Harry. Harry stared at them cold and Lavender lowered her face as if she were trying to avoid looking at them. Ron stopped in mid-step as he saw his best mate holding his wives hand, and he gulped nervously. As they made their way towards them, Lavender sitting in the row behind the opposing side, Ron stopped and opened his mouth to say something to him.

Up until then Harry hadn't spoken to him, hadn't seen him in two months, and had not openly expressed his opinion to either party. It wasn't until then that he finally narrowed his eyes at the man he thought he knew.

"Save it. We have nothing to say to one another." He hissed his voice powerful and deadly even in its soft tone.

Ron paled and quickly turned to take a seat next to his counsel. Hermione shot him a sad look and he let go of her hand as the head judge was announced in, and the room stood in respect.

"Honorable Matilda Hopkins presiding in the case of Ron Weasley vs. Hermione Weasley in petition for divorce." The older blonde woman sat and soon the hearing was under way. It started smoothly; all things agreed upon between their counsel's were stated. Soon, the judge had ruled in favor of Hermione's requests due to Ron's adultery, and Hermione was granted half of their shared accounts and the sole ownership of the house. Michael gave Hermione a reassuring look, letting her know that things were going as planned and that soon it would all be over.

_At least he's not starting a fuss about all of this_, Hermione told herself, chancing a look at Ron for the first time as the counsel's both continued in favor of their clients. She was thankful that he had remained somewhat civil about the dealings, giving Hermione what she asked for without much resistance and in return she remained fair and did not fight for everything Michael told her she could get. As it came to the last and most important order of business she felt herself sinking into the realization that it wasn't as messy as it could've been, and she was proud of herself. The realization that within the hour she would be Hermione Granger once again was almost unreal, as if she were just an outsider looking in.

She thought back on how young they were and how she didn't want to lose that feeling of love and togetherness that bonded them after the war. She was twenty when they got married, just a few months after Ginny and Harry. She thought back on the day of her wedding and how Ron's hand felt when they walked down the aisle after the ceremony was over. She remembered how he swept her up after the reception and carried her over the threshold and how scared she had been on her wedding night.

"Now, onto custody of two children..."

She looked up as Michael squeezed her shoulder with raised eyebrows. Hermione faked a confident smile, waving off his concern and turning her attention back to the judge.

"...Rose Katherina Weasley and Hugo Antony Weasley, both currently enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have here a petition for full custody to be granted to Hermione Jean Weasley, with weekends spent with one Ronald Bilius Weasley. Ms. Edgecombe, I don't have your clients signature here on this document, are you not in agreement?"

If it had been any other moment in her life, she was sure she would have chastised Ron for forgetting to sign. It wasn't until she looked over to see Marietta speaking quietly with Ron, who looked ready to throw up before nodding. It was as if her heart stopped as Michael cursed under his breath and Marietta stood up, beginning to shake her head.

_He's not going to sign._

"My client will be petitioning for full custody, with weekend visitations every two weeks to be granted to Hermione Jean Weasley."

_No, this can't be happening. This can't be happening. He can't do this._

She watched as the wizarding law enforcement passed on the petition from Marietta over to the head judge, her eyes burning into Ron's face. His refusal to meet her glare made her blood boil, almost as if the fact that he was too cowardly to do so was worse than him being arrogant. She watched angrily as Lavender leaned over the railing to whisper something to him, the only satisfaction being that Marietta didn't seem to enjoy Lavender's presence anymore than she did.

_You bastard. You sneaky, cheating bastard._ A bit of blood slipped out from her fist and she realized she had clenched her hands so tightly that four red half moon marks were in the palm of her hand.

"It has come to my client's knowledge that while in temporary custody of Ms. Granger, Rose Katherina Weasley, the eldest child is of concern. School reports state that she has been acting up in school, with offences such as stealing and defacing personal property. According to the schools headmistress, Rose Weasley is a punishment away from suspension from Hogwarts. No such action has ever been threatened while the children were living with my client. The children have also been ignoring my client's requests for visitation and we would like to further investigate the circumstances of their custody. Also, my client will be remarrying and can offer a stable environment with two sources of income, both being of pureblood background." Marietta finished, and turned once more to retrieve a neat folder of documents to hand off to the judge.

Hermione's jaw dropped, at a complete loss for words and unable to scream in the courtroom. She could hear Harry's struggle to breathe calmly and she wished more than anything that she had invited Molly Weasley and Ginny Potter to the proceedings. It wasn't a shock that there were still a lot of witches and wizards that put so much value in blood purity, even in the day and age they lived in. There were still instances where a muggleborn would have less say over a pureblood, and while civil right's law firms were fighting the good fight legally there was still a lot to be done. The shock was that the man she had loved and cherished, fought a war with, was going to use his blood heritage against her.

"Your honor, this is ridiculous, none of these concerns were brought up in counsel discussions. The idea that my client is unfit to have full custody of her children has never come up in any concern. My client is more than willing to give Mr. Weasley weekends and any other time that the children so choose to want to spend with their father. She's a Head Healer at St. Mungo's and her salary more than covers the financial strains of raising her children without the request for child support. The idea that a single parent household is unfit due to her -" He was about to begin once more when the head judge raised her hand for him stop.

"I believe Mr. Corner, that your opposing counsel had just mentioned an interest for an investigation into the custody. I am going to grant this request and will have this case sent into the Department of Child Welfare. It is there that they will conduct the proper procedure for custody battles such as this..."

_Custody battle. Rose. Hugo. _For her usually logical mind, she couldn't wrap her head around the idea.

"...they interview family members, friends, and eventually the children. I am going to keep Rose and Hugo Weasley under full custody of Hermione Granger and after the Christmas holiday we will reconvene on the sixth of January. At that time I will have reviewed the report from the DCW and a decision will be made. In the emergency event that the DCW finds you unfit or unstable, Ms. Granger, full custody will go to their biological father, Mr. Weasley. Do you understand?"

She had half a mind to say no, to say that she didn't understand how this could be happening and that she didn't understand being told that she was unfit to raise her children. She wouldn't be able to say whether or not she said yes, only that the judge continued speaking until she heard the gavel.

"Court is adjourned until that date. Five minute recess before the next case."

Marietta opened her mouth to protest as it appeared as if this was not the answer she was hoping for. The woman quickly shut her mouth at the stern glare from the honorable judge and watched as she left the courtroom.

"Hermione, I promise you, I will take care of this. I'll go to the office straight away and get you into the system at the DCW. I need you to keep away from the reporters as they're going to have a field day with this. I'll owl you no later than tomorrow afternoon. If ANYONE asks you any questions, refer them to my office." He glared over at Marietta who seemed to be giving Ron the same kind of quiet counsel. Hermione nodded at her former classmate, eyes unfocused and showing her shock.

"Harry, can you escort her home? Hermione, do not talk to Ron. I need to have a few words with Edgecombe." He hadn't waited for an answer as he stormed after the opposing attorney. The two could be heard echoing through the almost empty judiciary wing, bickering legal jargon back and forth as they faded away.

"That fucking git..." Harry growled glaring at Ron. Harry's face softened a bit as he saw how completely broken and angry she looked in that very moment.

"How could he do this Harry? How could he do this!" She hissed, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

"I don't know, he's a foul git. Corner will take care of it, I promise Hermione. I'll pay him double his fee if I have to. C'mon Hermione, let me get you home." He followed her glare across the room and trying to keep his own temper in check, helped her up from her seat.

"Hermione…" They both turned, eyes narrowed considerably as they watched Ron walk towards them. Harry's hand instantly reached for his wand, itching to curse him, when Hermione's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. She shook her head, and he could feel her small hand trembling in anger as she restrained herself from doing exactly what she was telling him not to.

"I didn't do this to hurt you or the kids. I swear that. I just want-" The redhead looked down at his now ex-wife then to Harry, causing him to step back in surprise. He'd never seen his best mate look so angry at him. For the first time, he truly feared the man they called "The Chosen One."

_So much for not talking to him._

"I-" Hermione started, when Harry interrupted her.

"You don't talk to her. You don't look at her. Just stay away you bloody coward." He hissed scathingly, feeling Hermione's nails dig into the wrist she was holding.

"I can handle it, Harry!" She broke out, stepping towards her now ex-husband. Her voice shook dangerously as she spoke.

"How could you, Ronald? You've already made a mess of our family, and a mockery out of me. It could've been so fucking simple, all you had to was sign the bloody paper and I would've let you see the kids whenever you wanted. Whenever! You have the gall, no, the fucking nerve to let that bitch bring up the fact that you're a pureblood and I'm not. And what's worse, the kids-" She glance harshly at Lavender as the blonde came to stand next to Ron. She paused, and for the first time since they were in Hogwarts she felt the rush of adrenaline kick in and her magic coarse through her veins.

"The kids won't even see me! You've brained washed them! My own family won't even speak to me!" Ron yelled, causing Lavender to jump behind him.

"Brain washed them? You twat everything up and yet she brainwashed them? You're an idiot." Harry snapped.

"They're not stupid, Ron. Rose is the one that walked in with you two going at it in her damn bedroom. She couldn't even sleep there afterward. If they are refusing to see you it's because they're angry with you, because you both ruined their family." Lavender opened her mouth to protest when Hermione squared her shoulders and rose to her full height, just above the woman in front of her. In that moment, she looked very much like the intimidating force the biographers wrote about.

"You. You don't speak to me. Understand?" Her voice sounded so deathly and calm that even Harry had to appreciate how threatening it sounded.

"Hermione, she has nothing to do with this. Don't talk to her that way. WE wan't to have our family together, I'm not pushing you out of the way. The kids deserve a proper family, Lavender and I can-"

Harry made to launch at him, ripping his arm away from Hermione, when a surprisingly strong pair of arms came around him to stop him. She thanked her stars in that moment as Hermione looked to see Draco struggling to keep an angry Harry from killing his "best friend." The surprise of seeing him stunned her for a second before she fully realized that Harry was still trying to throttle Ron.

"Always choosing each other over me. Always. Isn't it bad enough that you've caused my family to hate me?" Ron hissed, glaring at Hermione then to Harry. She gaped at him, barely able to hear Draco's attempt at settling Harry down.

"I caused it? I CAUSED IT? You singled yourself out Ron. Whatever anyone feels for you is caused solely by you, because my feelings certainly had nothing to do with YOUR decisions. I was only your wife, it's not like we were supposed to be faithful right?" She snapped sarcastically.

"For your information, Ronald Weasley, I may not have you as husband anymore but I sure as hell don't need you to have a happy family." She laughed dryly as Lavender looked rather afraid of the woman before her.

"You know, worst of all, you've just forced our children into this. Our babies will have to be in the media just like we were afraid of. I hope you're happy, you disgusting excuse of a man."

"Hermione, let's go home." Harry told her gruffly, glaring at Ron. She nodded, letting out a breath before turning and grabbing his hand. Just as they were about to step out from the courtroom, they heard Ron's voice.

"Enjoy your new friendship Harry, an ex-death eater and his spoiled son." Ron called out, and Draco stopped suddenly, his back faced toward Ron. He turned on his heel and Harry put a hand on the man's shoulder, suddenly afraid for Ron's near future. While he no longer associated with the dark arts, Draco Malfoy was no one to take lightly. The heir to the Malfoy fortune was known for having the same chilling effect as his father when he was angry. Hermione marveled at the fact that if she had seen this scene a year ago she would've begged or pleaded with Draco to excuse her husbands rude behavior; she would've apologized for him.

_No more._

The blonde stepped forward and calmly took her elbow into his hand.

"Funny thing is Weasley, I was a death eater more than a decade ago, whereas almost sixteen years later, you're still a pathetic piece of trash that no one wants." Hermione felt his grip twitch slightly under her elbow and she clenched her jaw while she glared at the man she once loved.

"And Weasley, my son may be spoiled, because Merlin knows I afford him all the things he wishes for...but my son loves and respects me. Does yours?" With that, he quickly helped Hermione and Harry out of the courthouse where it opened to a rush of flashes. He walked them to the apparition point quickly, and it took every bone in her body not to turn around and hex the man they'd left behind. She gripped Harry's forearm so tightly that she knew he'd have scars in the form of her fingernails.

_**I'm going to kill him.**_

When they arrived there, Draco paused and Harry muttered a form of thanks, rubbing his arm where Hermione had grasped. She felt as if she were being sucked into a dark room as she began realizing what had been ordered today and what could possibly happen if Ron won his case. She could hear Harry mentioning something to Draco about a thank you, and telling her that they needed to leave. She looked up to the Slytherin blankly.

Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him into a crushing hug and was too numb to realize that he barely hesitated before hugging her back.

* * *

_A/N: I hope everyone enjoys this one. I know its considerably shorter than the last chapter, but there is much more to come! Thank you! Please review!- Alyssa_

_(Updated April 03, 2011)_


	3. Kids, Let's Talk

**A/N: `**

**Chapter Three  
Kids, Let's Talk**

* * *

_Hermione, _

_I can't believe my brother-in-law would do such a thing. I've read the Prophet and all I can say is that he'd better watch his back come Christmas because if William does anything that he's threatening to do, I'll have to visit him in Azkaban. Please do not hesitate to write if you need to talk to someone. No matter what happens, there's always a room for you at shell cottage for you. I'll stop by one of these days and we can have lunch if you'd like._

_Fleur W._

* * *

_Hermyownee_

_We could hex him if you'd like, seems his head's gotten stuck rather far up his arse. The wives send their love and vicious helpful curses and sores that you might like to use on him.  
_

_Fred & George _

* * *

_Aunt Mione,_

_I don't want to beat around the bush, so I'll just say what I need to say. Why didn't mum and dad tell me that my aunt and uncle were getting a divorce? I just read about it in the Prophet. I've only just gotten home from my training in Salem and I demand to know whats going on. What happened? Why are they saying that you're under investigation? Please write back to me as my parents refuse to._

_Teddy Lupin_

* * *

After reading what felt like the millionth letter of well wishing and Ron hating, she soon gave up on finishing them. She was waiting for word from Michael as the eagerness to discuss the upcoming process with the DCW had been eating at her the entire night. She had written to both Rose and Hugo, telling them that she would be sending for them to come home at the weeks end, and was nervous for their reply.

_What if they end up hating me?_ Screamed her insecurities.

After their explosive confrontation at the end of hearing she flooed to Harry and Ginny's home and nearly destroyed everything in Harry's training room. He had watched her in slight awe as he thought his best friend had gone slightly mad. Her hair had been pulled out of it's professional trappings, and her robes were a mess as she spat out spells he hadn't heard of even in all of his years as an auror. It felt as if power was flowing through her veins as she hadn't used that many attack spells in years; it gave her grim pleasure to know she still had a knack for it. Harry held her as she cried in their basement and Ginny came around every so often and kissed her husband sadly, feeling ashamed of her brother.

"Morning. I'm here to extend an offer of employment; you're talent for spell casting would be very useful for our special ops."

As she heard the gruff morning voice she smiled weakly. Harry stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His hair stuck every way possible and he pushed his glasses up while pulling his baggy sweatpants up.

"It's as if you don't age. I have to deal with the sagging of being thirty while you look Teddy's age." Hermione told him smiling. Harry grinned at her and Hermione knew that if it weren't for the fact that she'd known him for half of her life, she'd swoon. He looked as if he were still a debonare twenty year old and it made her feel like she was Professor McGonagall compared to him.

"It's the sorcerers stone, I kept it for myself."

"Albus is going to look just like you when he gets older." She told him fondly.

"Isn't he a lucky bloke?"

She laughed softly and he walked over and nudged her to let him lay next to her; pushing the letters to the side he climbed under the covers with her. He slid his arm under head and Hermione found herself naturally sliding into place next to him, resting her arm against his stomach. The two laid quietly as both privately mulled over the fact that there would be no more "Ron AND Hermione", no more double dates and joint vacations with the kids. It was just the two of them, once again.

She was so wrapped up in her sad thoughts that she almost didn't realize that Harry had been patiently waiting for her with his fist stuck out expectantly.

"I'd thumb wrestle you, but you cheat. At least you have to play fair for this one." He grumbled.

"We aren't twelve anymore." Hermione teased, poking him in the ribs. Harry grinned but shook his head to protest.

"Says you! I'm not even forty yet. You're just afraid that you'll lose like always."

Hermione stuck out her fist defiantly and playfully jabbed him in the stomach.

"You're on, Potter."

"1-2-3 Show." Harry whispered, and he hissed in defeat as she pretended to cut his flat hand with her two fingers.

The two continued on like this for a while, lying next to one another playing their game. Hermione remembered back to the nights in he Hogwarts common room or the tent during the horcrux hunt when the would explain to Ron again why paper beat rock.

Ginny came into the room with three cups of horrible smelling tea which caused Harry to groan in protest and hide his head under the sheet; Hermione to wrinkled her nose in agreement. His wife glared at them and narrowed her eyes in warning. She put the tray on the bed and her hands on her hips, huffing indignantly.

"Before either of you ask, the answer is: NO, I did not try to mix about Neville's tea's again. He brought these by last night and said he wanted us to get the first whack at them before we eventually started selling them in Gilly's. I did exactly as he instructed, no meddling with it." Harry peeked out of the covers smiling at his wife and sat up to give her a lazy kiss on the cheek.

"You're a wonderful cook, love. Just when it comes to tea, there's a certain..." Ginny glared at him, as if challenging him to say another word, and he quickly closed his mouth. Hermione sat up, laughing at him when he elbowed her in the side playfully.

The three friends sat on the bed drinking what turned out to be a wonderfully refreshing splash of tea. As the warmth of their cups started to fade away, Hermione could feel the uncomfortable silence as Ginny and Harry had a silent conversation between husband and wife. Being that she knew the two so well, she could decipher it as Ginny asking him if she should leave, and Harry telling her to relax. Quietly, she sipped her tea and squeezed Ginny's hand as reassurance that she wasn't upset with her. It seemed to work as Ginny squeezed her hand back with a smile and Harry tipped his cup to her as if to say "I told you so."

"What do you think the kids will say?" Ginny finally asked, earning a long tired sigh from her best friend.

"Teddy popped in before I even got to read his letter while you both still asleep. I swear that boy is so impatient. He actually woke me up and demanded to know why no one in the family told him that Ron and I were getting a divorce. After that, he started on about how he couldn't believe it and I really don't know the rest, seeing as he was so distraught." Hermione told them, shaking her head. Harry laid back onto the bed and groaned tiredly as his wife looked at him as it were here turn to say I told you so.

"Yes, dear. I am aware that I should have spoken to him about it but he's been in intensive training and I didn't want to get him all worked up. He tends to get a bit melodramatic about things involving family and stand by not telling him. The boy only got in this morning, so I don't know-" As Ginny continued to glare at him, he threw up his hands.

Teddy was officially adopted by his godfather and their family just near the end of his fifth year after Andromeda's passing, although the Potter's had an equal share of raising him before that. When the two school sweethearts married, they built their home next to Andromeda's to be closer to them. It was just as Harry had soft spots for his two youngest children, Ginny had the same soft spots for what she considered her two eldest children.

"I suppose you'd like me to go talk with him." He asked her grumpily, placing his cup on the dresser. Ginny raised an eyebrow as if it were obvious.

"On a weekend, while he's at the dormitory...and I'm dressed like this..." He pointed out to her, his voice sounding an awful lot like a former potions master of theirs. Ginny crossed her arms in response and Hermione felt an elbow to her side once more as she stifled a giggle.

"Fine, I'LL GO. Don't all move at once. No, dear, I insist. Honestly." He grumbled, stepping out of the warm bed to get his wand and slippers. As they heard his mumblings and the pop that followed his apparation, the two women burst into fits of laughter.

"You'd never know he fought the darkest wizard in history." Hermione teased.

"He's right though, Teddy is a bit of a drama queen sometimes. Still, it is funny to see the famous Harry Potter leave the house like that." Ginny agreed.

As their laughter subsided, Hermione became aware of how nervous her friend's wife seemed now that they were alone. She noticed that Ginny seemed to think her hands were rather interesting and she pulled at a frayed thread from the comforter.

"I'm sorry, Her-" Ginny started when Hermione put a hand up to silence her.

"Don't. It's not your fault Gin, really. You had no way of knowing that he was going to do that, none of us did. You were always my friend before you were 'Ron's sister' and it's not going to change." It seemed like it was the final reassurance that Ginny needed as the woman smiled, vanishing the tray of tea before them.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked.

Hermione laughed dryly, running a hand through her hair. "Know any castration spells that don't leave a magical signature?"

"No, but I know Fred and George. I'm sure they can invent one." Ginny told her, causing them both to laugh. "Really, though, is there anything I can do to help?"

"I have no doubt that you and Harry will be interviewed by the Child Welfare people. I just, it could've been so easy, you know? Ron would've had to ask for the kids and I would've tried to work it out. If the kids wanted to see him, no problem. But now, Merlin, now Rose and Hugo have to walk around with everyone knowing their family's business. Now, they'll have rumors made about them by the papers, and Ron is going to force them to choose between us. How could he try to make it seem like I'm an unfit mother? I just..." She shook her head as the questions that ran through her head all night started to engulf her once more. As someone who almost always had an answer or a way to get an answer, she was completely and utterly lost now.

Ginny gave her large hug, similar to the ones Molly Weasley would dole out in occasion such as these; Hermione patted her back absently. It was just as Ginny let go, about to say something, that a rather large black owl came in with a parcel in it's clutches and masterfully dropped it between them.

"I swear I've seen this owl before." Ginny said, strangely as she summoned the owl treats, Hermione stroked it's feathers lovingly and nodded.

_Where have I seen you before?_

"You do seem rather familiar." She told the owl, which nudged her fingers affectionately. Ginny squealed in surprise as she reached to touch it and the owl snapped it's beak in warning. She glared at the owl before giving the treat to Hermione as if she were an upset child.

"Bugger doesn't seem to like me very much." Ginny grumbled, crossing her arms in a bit of a pout. Hermione led it back towards the window after feeding it, laughing.

"You do seem to have an awful time with birds. It's a good thing that Harry's owl is old and kind or I'm afraid you'd have less than ten fingers." Ginny stuck her tongue at her, and Hermione examined the package thoughtfully. There was an envelope along with it and she swore she'd seen the stamped crest before. Her fingers ran along the seal, and she tried her best to think of why it looked so familiar to her. Pulling out the expensive looking card, she read the short but beautifully written script.

_Granger,_

_Congratulations on throwing out the garbage. _

_D.M_

She smiled brightly at the unusual toast to her divorce and handed it over to Ginny as she opened the package. Ginny scrunched her face in confusion, and as she opened her mouth to ask who D.M was, she jumped in surprise as Hermione nearly fell off the bed laughing; she had barely opened the entire package. Ginny leaned over and snatched the gift away, extremely curious, and looked at her friend even more confused as she saw was it was.

A small framed piece of parchment that stated she now had a single share in Witch Weekly stock, with a small note on the frame that said: _For all the magazines you sell._

Hermione was faintly aware of the two small 'pops' as a bashful Teddy and annoyed Harry apparated into the bedroom. Harry scrunched his nose at them, pushing up his glasses.

"What is she laughing about?" Harry asked, confused. Ginny looked at her slightly hysterical friend and then back at her husband.

"She hasn't lost it, has she?" Teddy asked nervously, muttering an "ow" as Harry hit him lightly on the back of his head.

"I'm not sure, but I think a certain D.M knows something we don't."

* * *

"I swear Harry, I've ended up in the McGonagall's Office more now than I ever did when I went to school." She grumbled slightly as she waited for Rose and Hugo to arrive. Her request to pull the children out for the remainder of the week had been answered and she waited nervously for them to arrive. Harry had decided to take his children out for the weekend as well as he was already getting letters of complaints from Lily about how reporters were owling them for their opinions on their aunt and uncle.

Harry laughed and shook his head.

"I can't say the same, unfortunately. I think I might've been in here more than Fred and George." He told her, earning a loud unladylike snort from his best friend.

"Even with the things we did in school, I don't think anyone compares to Fred and George in that department."

He grinned, nodding quietly in agreement when he heard someone quietly cough for their attention. The two looked around confused until Hermione nodded over at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. Neither had seen the old headmaster in years, and according to the students, Albus Dumbledore found himself much more useful amongst the other paintings rather than in a study all day long listening to a headmistress scold students.

As Harry followed her glance his face fell a bit; even after all of these years he still felt partial responsibly for the death of the great wizard. Quietly, they made their way over to the portrait, and Hermione smiled at the old professor warmly. True to his real self, he looked and sounded exactly as he did the last time she ever saw him alive. Although they knew that it was the way it worked with the headmaster's portraits, it never failed to make Hermione's heart hurt for a little after seeing him.

"Professor, taking a rest for once?" Harry asked him. The portrait winked at him and the two adults felt like teenagers all over again as the professor seemed to be so much wiser than either of them, even in death.

"Yes, I always enjoyed the Merlin Festival through this window. It's good to see you both after so long. I must say that young Albus and Rose look much like their parents." Hermione felt like crying slightly, wishing that their children could have met the man in the flesh. Harry squeezed her hand, and nodded at the portrait proudly.

The three talked while they waited. Hermione spoke quietly also with their former potions master, while Harry nodded in recognition.

Soon, the door opened, and a squabbling James and Lily led the group to their parents. Hermione shared an intrigued glance with Harry as they spotted a blonde head of hair bobbing behind them.

"Dad!" Lily squealed upon seeing her father, the young witch ran up to him happily earning a tight hug from Harry.

"You're such a damn suck up." James snapped as he walked up, obviously still peeved with her from their earlier squabble. Harry shot him a look, and hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"That's no way to talk to your sister, or any woman. I shouldn't have to tell you that." He told him strictly; the boys eyes widened at the tone of voice, and he nodded quickly saying that he understood. Lily smirked at her brother and looked at the two men in the portrait, waving brightly at the both of them. The older adults grinned at how Snape actually seemed to smile at the little girl before turning and sneering at her older brother behind her. Hermione figured it was because of how much she resembled the late Lily Potter. Saying their polite goodbyes, the two parents made their way over to the group of kids.

While Harry talked with his children, Hermione gave Hugo a small smile as the boy hugged her, not saying anything. She was a bit unnerved as Rose gave her mother a small smile but stayed with Scorpius, a bit detached from the rest of the group. Harry looked over at Hermione and sent her a reassuring nod, as if to say "it's ok." He looked over at Scorpius with the same question in his eyes as Hermione.

"Come to see them off, dear?" Hermione asked him in a drawl not unlike the late Severus Snape. Scorpius looked surprised by her tone, and Rose nudged him in the ribs to answer her. Albus grinned at the two of them as if he didn't think that his two best friends would pull off whatever they were trying to.

"I've decided to take the early holiday as well Mrs. Weasley-"

"It's Granger now, Scor." Rose told him quietly, avoiding her mothers eyes. Hugo glared at his sister harshly but said nothing, only looking at his mother with worry as she looked ready to cry right on the spot. Scorpius looked at his best friend as if she'd told him to call her mother 'sweetheart' or some other disgusting pet name.

"Um...right, as I was saying, I've decided I need to go on holiday as well. Keep them company and all that." Scorpius finished with his head high, the look on his face was one of confidence. He seemed proud of himself until Professor McGonagall cleared her throat behind him signaling that she had been standing there the whole time. He turned around and attempted to look as if he hadn't done anything wrong; he lasted only a mere five seconds before he began to laugh nervously under the woman's glare.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm pleased that you've decided to share this decision with the rest of the school." She told him dryly, her lips pursed in a perfectly straight line. Hermione watched him in minor amusement as she saw much of herself in Scorpius' place at that age. She remembered having that exact conversation when she yelled at countless Order Members about Harry's well being or the fact that she would be there to extract him from the Dursley's home. She turned to Harry who looked to be thinking the same and gave her a wink.

"Well, you see Headmistress…" Rose turned and looked pleadingly at Hermione.

_Oh good grief, child._

She groaned mentally. She knew if she did not fight for the boy to tag along that there would be no chance in getting her daughter to speak to her this weekend. Just as she were about to says something, the fire behind her roared green and a very annoyed Draco Malfoy stepped out. He glared at the room as he tried dusting off the front of what looked like potions robes. She quickly stepped aside with Hugo and closed her mouth.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, perhaps you can clear this up." McGonagall said curtly, her eyes still on Scorpius.

Draco shot his son an annoyed look before running a hand through his hair in frustration. Hermione felt the urge to smirk at the situation between father and son but didn't want to appear to be making fun of them. Harry, however, didn't stop himself from snorting in amusement alongside James who followed suit.

"Funny thing is, headmistress, is I was only informed of this about 10 minutes ago. Scorpius, perhaps you'd like to explain your holiday to the rest of the room then?" Draco told them calmly, crossing his arms impatiently. The boys gray eyes widened just a bit and he straightened his shoulders, standing properly upright.

"Well, I thought that it would an excellent time to exercise house unity by going with Rose on holiday for support. We've been harassed by many of the reporters on school grounds and I'd really not like to face them alone, headmistress."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry, and feel a stab of shame at the embarrassing situation her divorce was causing. Harry just shook his head, and he quickly put a hand up when Lily opened her mouth to say something back at Scorpius. The usually talkative girl closed her mouth with a sound and James grinned at her triumphantly. Draco felt his temples throb and his mouth go slightly agape at his son's horrible excuse; for Draco believed that if his son was going to lie, he should at least be somewhat decent at it.

_Really, just_ _hex me, my son is a bloody Hufflepuff._

"Really, ma'am it would truly help if Scorpius came with us, and seeing as it is a long weekend anyway and loads of kids go home for Merlin's birthday…" Rose started, and quickly stopped when she saw the stern look from her mother telling her that she was out of line. Draco looked to Hermione and then to her daughter, he motioned over to Hermione and Harry to follow him.

"A quick minute, headmistress-" They walked out of earshot and Harry slapped his back with a grin that ached to give way. Draco scowled at him slightly.

"My son is a bloody badger, your redhead was able to make up a better excuse than him." Draco told Hermione in a bit of a whine. She smiled at him but was sure to turn her back as to not let the kids see it. She could hear Professor McGonagall chastising all of them in the distance.

"Ah, don't worry, the Slythern in him will come out eventually." Harry told him sarcastically, grinning fully which caused Draco to glare at him. The ex-Slytherin grumbled under his breath and Hermione swore she heard something about a "Golden Trio Brainwash System." She snapped her fingers and the two men looked at her, remembering why they were there.

"To be honest, Draco, I really don't mind Scorpius coming along. He can stay with me if you'd like." She offered; Harry nodded, extending the offer for his home as well. Draco shook his head.

"No, it's not him coming home that's the problem, only the way he went about it. He'll probably be itching to floo between houses ever five seconds to be with your lot-"

"He's more than welcome. I assure you." Hermione told him, sparing him the task of having to awkwardly ask. Draco looked at her strangely but nodded in appreciatively. He looked as if he were even proud that his son had made such a good impression on the two upstanding families.

"The little cad, I should keep him here for trying to pull this. Can you believe he owled me this morning with a stupid note saying, Gone on holiday with Rose and Albus." Draco grumbled as they turned to go back to the group. Harry chuckled and pat him on the shoulder once more.

"Maybe he's more of a Slytherin than you think. Seems he got his holiday in the end."

The three walked in to see the two Slytherins glaring at the Headmistress; the satisfaction on the ex-professor's face was not lost on anyone.

"I assume that Scorpius will be going on holiday, Mr. Malfoy?" She asked patiently.

Draco gave his son a pointed look before nodding his head once in reply. Scorpius threw his fist up in celebration and slapped hands with Albus when Harry coughed loudly for their attention, causing the two boys to try to straighten up instantly. The elder Slytherin tried not to laugh at how badly the two boys concealed their excitement; the two were trying to sneak looks to one another. Hermione felt a little better seeing Rose brighten considerably.

"Well, then the amended punishment for this weekend still stands for you three." Professor McGonagall told them sternly. Harry looked at James who suddenly grinned from ear to ear and then at Hugo who looked rather amused. Scorpius' face darkened slightly but the three of them nodded in agreement.

"I'll expect three roles of parchment each on the importance of Merlin in the wizarding world. Seeing as you three are so keen to celebrate his holiday, you should have no problems honoring him with a well thought out essay on his achievements." Minerva told them with satisfied smirk. Hermione had to smile at how Rose looked rather unaffected by the assignment whereas the two boys looked properly annoyed. The headmistress excused herself, motioning to the floo on her way out, and Scorpius let out a low whistle.

"And we're out." Albus laughed, throwing his arms around Rose and Scorpius's necks.

"Well, we're off, I guess we'll all meet up at our house before the festival. Knowing these monsters, we'll probably be up early." Harry told both Draco and Hermione who nodded.

"We should camp out and look out for Nargles when Stella comes home from school this weekend." Albus told them almost dreamily, earning a look of question from his family and friends.

"Have you gone absolutely mad?" Rose and James asked simultaneously.

"It's a great idea, Al. Nargles, Stella, Rose, and a couple of Weasley Wizard Wheezes originals to drive everyone nuts."

Everyone began to laugh as Draco rolled his eyes and flicked floo powder on his son's face. The group settled down, eventually going through the floo. As it came the time for Draco to leave, Hermione stopped him; Draco looked at her strangely, telling Scorpius to floo home and to wait for him.

"Yes, Granger?" He asked polietly as everyone left. Hermione smiled at him before motioning over to the two portraits.

"Snape is here, he's usually gone when we're around." She told him quietly. The blond turned to the portrait where a calm looking Severus Snape sat watching them. He looked sad for a moment, and he emptied his handful of floo powder into the palm of her hands. With a quiet, thankful nod, he made his way over to the portrait looking much like his son as he made to speak to the man he once called his godfather.

Hermione watched him for a second and - not wanting to intrude on a private moment - quietly flooed home.

* * *

Rose set the table alongside her brother, listening to the radio while their mother busied herself in the kitchen.

"Do you think she's going to talk about dad tonight?" Hugo asked softly, watching as Rose lazily levitated dishes into their proper setting. The second he said it, he reached out and grabbed the dish as the spell broke, catching it before it crashed against the table. Rose gave him a look of thanks as he let out a breath of relief.

"It's a good thing I'm a seeker or we'd be in for it." He mumbled, gently placing it onto the table.

"You know that I can't concentrate when we talk about _**him**_." Rose told him grouchily as she stuffed her wand in her back pocket and began putting the silverware out by hand.

"**He's** our _father_. I don't like _**him**_ very much either right now, but he's still our **dad**." Hugo shot back, looking over his shoulder to make sure their mother couldn't hear them. He ran an annoyed hand through his light brown hair and Rose sighed in agreement.

"Huey, you read the same papers that I read. He's saying mum is unfit, and that it's her fault for all the shite I did at the beginning of the term."

"Well that's plain wrong. It's your fault that all that stuff happened, not mum's." Hugh told her accusingly.

"Oh, thanks Hugo, that just makes me feel LOADS better. Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't you the very one who came running up to tell me AND mom how cool it was that I blew up Filch?" Rose grumbled, staring at the ceiling. They could hear their mother humming in the next room which they knew to mean that dinner was just about done.

"I'm just saying, maybe you guys could cool it for a while. I mean, do you really want to live with Aunt Lavender and Violet?" Hugo and Rose shivered in unison at the thought of having to live with Violet Finnegan. While she wasn't in either of their years, she had a reputation amongst many of the students as being a spoiled and obnoxious brat. Although Hugo wished he had nothing to do with her, he was best friends with his cousin Lily who insisted on being nice to everyone, including Violet; Rose and her duo of Slytherin misfits seemed to be perfectly fine with taking any measure to pretend she didn't attend school.

Just as she was about to open his mouth, Hermione came in with dinner steaming in her hands, placing it on the table.

"You've both washed up?" Hermione asked, returning into the kitchen to get the remainder of dinner. Rose turned her attention back to Hugo with an annoyed glance.

"We have cooled it, none of us have gotten in trouble since the Filch fiasco. Oh, and don't call her Aunt Lavender, she is nothing to either of us." Rose snapped.

"Well I'm not about to call her 'Mother' so what else are we supposed to call her?" Hugo grumbled.

"How's about we call her a stupid slutty crumpled snorckack or whatever that thing is called? That way, she's still stupid, she's still slutty AND she doesn't exist?" Rose said mockingly.

As they heard Hermione get closer to the door, Hugo leaned over the table and quickly hissed at his sister.

"Fine. Just don't be a jerk to mum when she wants to talk about it."

She glared at her younger brother as her mother came in with trimmings for dinner and sat down. Hermione smiled at the two warmly, and Rose tried not to notice that the chair where her father used to sit was empty.

"It's so good to have you two home, dig in." Hermione ordered, quickly taking in on her plate, her children following suit. They ate dinner quietly at first, then gradually began easing into conversation as if nothing had changed. It was obvious that they were quite happy that the awkward tension had passed and soon Hermione was laughing loudly at joke that Hugo told and listening in rapture at Rose's potion's theories. Rose smiled at her mom, and put her hand atop her mothers as Hugo took it as his cue to say something.

"Mum, can we talk about dad? We know it's why you took us out of school earlier than the others. If we talk about it now we can have a good weekend without worrying about it..." He trailed off, ignoring the glare that Rose sent his way as he looked to her to finish his sentence. Hermione followed his glance and waited expectantly for Rose to pick up where he left off. The older girl softened and sighed.

"And we just want to get this out of the way." She offered lamely.

Hermione squeezed her hand and grasped her son's hand in the other, giving out a long breath before beginning.

"Well, as you know…you're father and I have settled the matter of our divorce. The three of us will still live here and you'll still go to Hogwarts. I'll be going back to my maiden name now as Rose pointed out earlier…" She knew she was babbling and tried to steer herself on point. Rose looked down as she knew she had embarassed her mother earlier with the comment on her last name.

"I'm sorry mum." Rose told her, earning a light squeeze to her hand.

"I want you two to try your hardest to ignore what the papers are saying. Trust me when I say that I never wanted either of you to be in the limelight, but unfortunately, with mine and your fathers status in the Wizarding World they've received quite a bit of interest in our personal lives. I know what it's like to be gawked at, at your age, and I want you to know that I'm sorry you and your friends are going through that. I'm sure you two have questions about what you've heard…" Rose was starring down at her plate, playing with her food, and Hugo was looking down at his hands.

"Why do they keep saying that we're in a nasty custody despute?" Hugo asked quietly.

"I'm afraid it's because the original arrangement between your father and I has been challenged. Your father is requesting that the both of you go to live with him. That agreement would mean that I would see the both of you every other weekend during the summer." She jumped as Rose's threw her fork down onto her plate. The young girl glared at it angrily and Hermione could feel the uncontrolled magic in the room as the fork twisted under her glare.

"Rose Katherina." Hermione said sternly, causing the girl to drop her glare and look up. Hermione opened her mouth to say something when Rose interrupted her.

"Why is he doing this to us? How can dad just…how can he take you away from us? How could he be marrying Violet's mom?" Her voice broke and it took all of Hermione's resolve not to cry at how upset her daughter was. She glanced at Hugo who returned his stare at his hands and she knew he agreed with his sister.

"I don't know why your father decided to do the things he's done, darling; I'd have to lie to you in order to give you an answer for that. I CAN tell you that I will work my hardest to make sure that you two are safe and provided for. I can tell you that no matter what happens, your father and I will always love the both of you and we will always be in your lives-" Rose stopped her.

"How can you be so calm about this? Don't you want Hugo and I to live with you?" Hugo glared at for saying what he thought to be stupid question; he ripped a piece of bread from his plate and threw it at her face. Rose glared at him and flew it back, the two quickly bickering and flying food back and forth. Hermione flicked her wand and soon the food was suspended in mid air.

"Hugo, don't fly food at your sister. She has every right to ask these questions. Also, Rose, you'll find that when you start spouting off accusations just because your upset is not what mature people do. " She stopped, and took a deep breath. The two widened their eyes, looking down at their laps, properly chastised.

_Damn you, Ron. Damn you for making me do this on my own._

"Now..." She took a second before speaking again, feeling a bit bad for scolding them.

"...of course I want the both of you to live with me. If I had my way, there but these are not issues for children to have to worry about. I will not have you and your brother stuck in a pick me, pick me custody battle. Yes, I am angry with your father, but he is still your father and as such, berating him will not be tolerated. Also, avoiding him will not be allowed. I'm not asking either of you to like him, but you will be respectful. Is that clear?"

Rose clenched her jaw, and crossed her arms, nodding unhappily. Hugo mirrored her and Hermione nodded continuing on. She knew her children well enough to know that that part of the argument was far from over, but decided to let it slide for now.

"Now, seeing as your father has requested custody of you both, the four of us will be going through review through the DCW...that's the Department of Child Welfare at the Ministry. I've spoken with Mr. Corner and he's informed me that a representative from this branch will be coming by the school over the next few months to interview the both of you, your head of house and your headmistress. We all need to be on our best behavior for the next few months or it's just going to be harder on all of us. I will not, Rose this goes for you especially, I will not have either of you lying to these people. This is not a game, this is a very serious matter and regardless of your frustration towards your father, you will not go off telling them false stories and such." Rose flushed slightly and nodded.

Hermione sighed and pulled the two of the towards her for a second, holding them and releasing them to their chairs.

"I love you both so much. I'm so sorry that we're going through this." She whispered softly.

"It's not your fault Mum, we don't blame you." Rose told her sadly; Hugo nodded in agreement.

They sat quietly, stewing in their thoughts when Hermione flicked her wand and the suspended food went flying at both of their heads. Hugo laughed, surprised, while Rose stared at her in shock. Soon the three began laughing as Hugo retaliated by throwing a piece of bread at his mother.

Their laughter filled their home as a small scaled food fight broke out between the three of them. The upsetting mood from earlier seemed to melt away as they chased one another throughout the house with pieces of their dinner. Rose and Hugo looked almost content with everything even as they cleaned up together afterwards. While Hermione knew the conversation wasn't over, it was a start.

_It'll be good enough, for now._

* * *

A/N: Chapter three! I love this story so much. I really hope that I'll get more feedback soon, soplease jus tap tap tap that little review button!-_Lyss_

Updated (April 11, 2011)


	4. Me, You and Merlin

**Chapter Four  
Me, You and Merlin**

* * *

"MUM! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! We're going to miss everything!"

Hermione groaned as she rolled over to the feeling Hugo shaking her while she saw Rose stood in the doorway looking impatient. She glanced at the clock and saw flashing 7:00 A.M. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and swatted her son's hand away as he meant to shake her again.

"What. Are. You. Two. Doing? It's seven in the morning on a _**Saturday,**_ what could you two possibly be ready for at seven in the morning?" She was answered with two exasperated groans.

"MUM, you know what today is." Hugo whined.

"It's the Merlin Festival today at Diagon Alley. Albus, Lily AND Scorpius already owled! I want to get there early, cause James said that the-" She stopped her son as her began to babble; waving her hand in front of him lazily, he paused, his hazel eyes bright with excitement as he sat there. She looked over at Rose who gave her the same pleading stare.

"Were you in on this as well?" She asked Rose. Her sleepiness began to wane as amusement set in. Rose blushed but nodded.

"C'mon Mum, don't know who'll be there? Patronus! Plus, the lead singer is going to be taking pictures before he goes on stage. If you and Uncle Harry go with us, we can skip the line-" Rose threw her hand over her mouth and Hugo whipped the pillow at her giving her a glare.

"Rose Katherina Weasley, were you going to use-"

"See, what you did? You big blabber mouth, always talking before thinking!" Hugo half yelled-half whined.

"You were a part of this as well, Hugh? You both would put your mother and uncle in an uncomfortable reporters frenzy just for an autograph?" Hermione asked accusingly. Hugo's face grew red and opened his mouth to explain when his sister beat him to the punch.

"It's not just an autograph, it's a picture too, mum!" Rose blurted, slapping a hand on her mouth a second time as if she were trying to restraint the words from spilling off of her tongue. Hugo covered his face with his hands, groaning in frustration.

"Alright, both of you get out of my room, you scheming little toads!" She pointed at the door. Hugo pouted as he made his way to the door looking very much like a dog with its tail between its legs. The door closed behind him and she could hear the two arguing over their ruined their plot to use their mother's fame to get the singers autograph. She shook her head, an amused smile playing on her lips as she got herself ready to go.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Scorpius bellowed, dusting the soot off of Rose as they flooed into Harry's home. Hermione shook her head at them and made a beeline to the kitchen where she knew there would be some sort of coffee. She nearly tumbled over as a messy head of black hair ran down the stairs at the sound of his best friend's arrival. She heard a short mumbled "sorry" as Albus ran into the living room.

She moaned quietly as she saw the full pot of coffee awaiting her along with a kitchen devoid of anyone that called her "Aunt" or "Ms". She began filling a cup for herself when she heard the door open.

"If you have not graduated from Hogwarts then you are not allowed to say a word until this coffee is properly finished." She snapped, not looking behind her.

"You had an early start too, I see."

Hermione turned to see Draco standing at the door with a tired smile on his face and she laughed slightly. He walked over to her and she wondered for a moment on how to greet him, seeing as how friendly they'd been lately. For some reason unknown to her, it felt improper to simply acknowledge him and yet a hug or a kiss would feel awkward; A handshake would be absurdly out of the question. So instead, she turned around and grabbed another mug from the kitchen cupboard.

"You must've been here for a while; Scorpius was a bit upset that Rose was apparently tardy. How do you take your coffee?"

"Two sugars and a dash of cream. I don't know why my son would be upset, we'd only just arrived when he went off sending that note along. You see, Scropius is a bit dramatic." He grumbled, leaning on the counter next to her. She laughed and handed him his mug to which he nodded a thanks.

"Much like his father was, I presume." Hermione joked, cupping her hands around her coffee to enjoy the warmth. Draco rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Yes, well, I like to think he gets that part from his mother."

"How is Astoria these days?" Hermione asked. She realized then that in all the time Rose had been best friends with Scorpius, she had never heard anything about the boys mother. The missing bit of information peaked her interest and she would be sure to ask Ginny or Harry about it later. In the meantime, however, she stayed quiet as Draco shrugged carelessly in repsonse.

"I hear that she and her third husband are on a romantic honeymoon in Brazil. She sends letters every now and then to Scorpius or Pius as she likes to call him." He said the nickname with distaste. She frowned, and he chuckled at the look on her face.

"Scorpius is such a good kid; you've done an excellent job with him on your own." Hermione told him sincerely. She reached out and gently touched his arm to assure him. He looked down at her hand for a second before nodding once more, sipping his coffee.

"Thanks. I'll admit though, he's gotten to be a much more pleasant child since he started hanging around your lot. He can be a bit of a wart sometimes. And I didn't raise him on my own; my mother had a lot to do with his upbringing. Merlin knows I definitely had no idea about teething and all of that, but we managed." He told her, and Hermione smiled and playfully hit his arm.

"Don't call your son a wart." She laughed and he winked at her in response, sipping his coffee. Draco opened his mouth to say something in return when they heard a strangled noise from the doorframe.

"Dad, you called me a wart?" Scorpius yelled, indignant as Albus put a hang on his shoulder, trying to appear supportive yet not bothering to hide the amused grin on his face.

Rose pushed them to the side, walking into the kitchen; she rolled her eyes while she and Stella Longbottom laughed at the upset look on his face. Draco snorted as Scorpius huffed, shrugging his shoulders in response, causing the rest of the room to laugh while his son glared at him.

"My mum called Hugo and me toads this morning. Don't take it so seriously before you give yourself a complex." She told him offhandedly, grabbing a blueberry muffin. Draco raised his coffee as a toast to Hermione and she smiled, raising her cup in return.

"That's because you are a toad." Scorpius shot back at her, stealing the muffin away from her. Rose yelled out indignantly and put her wand at the blondes face ignoring the warning noise her mother gave her. The boy rolled his eyes as Albus egged her on.

"Some best mate you are." Scorpius said, pushing Albus playfully laughing as the shove was returned.

"How's about I turn YOU into a toad?" Rose threatened, her wand still held steady at his nose. Scorpius scoffed as the girl rotated her wrist in what looked like a complicated figure-eight kind of movement and nearly jumped out of his skin as the blue light emitted from her wand shot out towards his face. He cautiously opened his eyes to see that she had in fact turned the muffin into a white and blue spotted toad that was currently wiggling in his hands. Quickly dropping it to the floor, it hopped at his feet. Draco laughed at his son's face of shock and Hermione fought a smile as she looked at her daughter sternly.

"Rose, you could've hit Scorpius with that spell. Next time you do that, I'll be confiscating that wand of yours." She told her firmly though secretly she was rather impressed. Rose nodded but a triumphant grin was plastered over her face.

"Yeah! You could've hit me with it! Listen to your mother!" Scorpius snapped.

"He'd look a right side better than he normally does!" Rose teased, reaching to grab another muffin. Instead of yelling once more, Scorpius lifted the blueberry toad off the ground and threw it at her, causing her to shriek and jump back.

"Serves you right!" Scorpius laughed, quickly turning to run out of the room.

"UGH! Come back here Scor! You rotten-" The insults faded from the parents earshot as she chased after him leaving their friends to follow after them. Draco shook his head and this time Hermione tipped her cup to him in cheers.

"She's good for him." Draco told her, sounding as if he was rather pleased. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"She's a show off." She told him, grabbing a non-toad shaped blueberry muffin. This time, Draco grinned.

"Much like her mother, I presume." Mimicking her exact words from their earlier conversation causing her to blush. She smiled over her cup, quickly realizing that she enjoyed how comfortable she felt with him.

"Yes well, if that's the case, she most certainly does get it from me."

"That's a confusing spell to do at your fourth year. Quite impressive. It looks almost like a chocolate frog." He watched as the frogs hops slowed down as the spell began to wear off.

"You'd better watch out Draco, you're complimenting a Gryffindor. That's very un-snake like behavior." Hermione told him playfully. She stopped for a second as she realized that she was leaning in rather comfortably towards him and that their body language could easily be construed as something less innocent than coffee conversation.

_Am I flirting with him? Is this flirting?_

She could feel her face grow a bit warm and straightened up, stepping a bit away which led to Draco raising an eyebrow at her curiously. He was about to comment on the tinge in her cheeks when Harry stumbled into the kitchen, grumbling about kids and how he should've left them to rot at school.

Hermione laughed at him glad for the distraction from her thoughts.

"Thank Merlin for boarding school." He joked receiving a 'here, here' from the Slytherin parent. Hermione slapped him lightly on the shoulder and turned to get him a cup. As they began to chat about the coming day, a screech stopped the entire house in it's tracks.

**"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS A WHITE TOAD DOING IN MY HOUSE!"**

They nearly dropped their cups from laughing so hard and in the distance a muffled Scorpius could be heard yelling out the culprits name.

* * *

"Fred and George must be up in arms over there." Hermione yelled to Harry as their group of kids hurried over to WWW. They had arrived considerably early, as per their children's request, but the street was already packed with people. They had to avoid the many vendors and tourists that lined the streets all getting ready for the parade. Harry grabbed her hand while they made their way through the crowd, following the children in.

"I think they live off of the excitement!" Harry yelled back; he craned his neck around the crowd in search for his wife. Hermione looked around as well, her brow furrowing slightly as she swore that Draco was right next to her as they left The Gillyweed.

"Where'd they run off to?" Harry asked her, she shook her head to answer him and he pointed to the wall.

"I'll give you a boost; you'll be able to see over the crowd." He said suddenly, deciding to pull her along. Hermione swatted him away shaking her head feverently.

"Why don't I give **_you_** a boost, and **_you_** go up there?" She grumbled pathetically, looking at the high wall in front of her. Harry laughed at her and patted her head teasingly, earning a glare from his longtime friend.

"We aren't in Hogwarts anymore Hermione - not that you could've ever carried me then. I'm a strapping big lad and you're a delicate mother now. I'm fairly certain you wouldn't even be able to lift Stella and she's waif thin." He crouched down, his palms flat. When she paused once more, he simply motioned to his hand patiently. She groans of protest fell on deaf ears as she lifted her foot onto his hand and steadied herself by purposefully digging whatever nails she had into his shoulder.

"I hate you, Harry James Potter, I hate you. You know that, right? We shouldn't even be doing this kind of stuff anymore; we're adults for Merlin's sake." She rambled on and braced herself as he easily lifted her up. She looked over the wall shakily and cursed silently as she was unable to see either person she was looking for.

"Do you see them?" Harry called. Hermione looked down and shook her head then turned to look again, scanning the crowd.

_Thank Merlin I'm wearing jeans today._ She told herself, realizing how improper she would've looked if she had been standing over the crowd wearing a skirt.

"Harry, what are you two doing!" Ginny yelled, walking up to her husband and her best friend. Draco stood behind her, eyeing them curiously with an all too amused smile on his face. Surprised to hear his wifes voice, he turned around and as if he forgot he was carrying Hermione, he dropped his hands. Hermione let out a yell of surprise as the support left her and she felt herself fall backwards, unable to grab the top of the wall in time. She braced herself for impact when she felt someone catch her around her waist, causing she and her rescuer to tumble to the ground unceremoniously.

Ginny yelled out as she watched Hermione fall, causing a few of the passerby to turn and look at them.

"You dolt! You. Could. Have. Hurt. Her." She said each word with a slap on his arm; Harry ducked his head to avoid her swinging purse.

Hermione groaned, feeling as if the air got sucked out of her as the two arms remained around her waist and her rescuer coughed under her. He released her quickly and she slid off of his chest, the two adults catching their breath on the Diagon Alley street. Slowly she sat up, smoothing out her clothes before she helped Draco sit up. She glared at Harry as he tried to stop himself from laughing unsuccessfully and soon became aware that there was a crowd beginning to surround them. She swore she saw a distant camera flash as they stood up together and inwardly groaned at the idea of her "graceful" fall being plastered somewhere.

"Thank you. That fall could have been rather painful." Hermione told him, her face red with embarrassment as she helped wipe off the dirt from his back. What looked to be a highly expensive jacket was now covered in the wonderment of Diagon Alley's walkway.

"Well seeing as Wonderboy wasn't about to catch you." Draco grumbled, glaring at the obnoxious people that seemed content to stare at them.

"OY, show's over. Back away you silly twits." He growled, causing the indignant crowd to disperse rather quickly.

"Sorry about that. Here, let me get you a new jacket, I insist."

She turned to glare at Harry as she heard him laughing next to her while he was getting slapped by his wife. Draco turned around, shaking his head his head as well and Hermione accidentally ran a hand over the front of his shirt blushing as she inadvertently pressed her hand onto his chest. His eyebrows raised and he gave her a cheeky sort of smirk, the amusement shining in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. Between falling on top of you and feeling you up, I've already gone past first base with you." Hermione joked lightly. The second the words flowed out of her mouth she inwardly chastised herself for blatantly flirting with him for the second time of the day. He grinned at her wickedly for a second only to stop and scrunch up his nose as if he were confused.

_Goodness, what has gotten into me?_

"What's a base got to do with anything?" Hermione opened her mouth to say something when he waved his hands to stop her from explaining.

"Wait, buy me a drink later. You can explain it to me then. I'm sure you'll probably give me a history lesson of what ever it is that you meant by that." He told her casually; she blinked in surprise before quietly nodding in agreement.

"Sorry about that, Hermione. My wife gave me a bit of a lesson if you didn't notice already. You should really blame her though, her beauty confounded me." Harry told them with a silly grin on his face, pulling his annoyed wife into his arms. Ginny's face softened easily as he tickled her sides, stopping when she hit him on the shoulder again. She looked towards Hermione concernedly.

"Are you alright? Since this oaf didn't bother to ask." Ginny told him in a half hearted glare. The raven haired man looked down at his shoes for a second embarrassed before smiling at Hermione in the way that made her forget she was angry at him. She reached around Ginny and pinched his neck roughly causing him to swat her hand away as he nursed the offended spot. She fought a losing battle to keep her lips in a tight line in order to keep from laughing.

"I'm not trusting YOU again." She told him indignantly, turning her head towards her daughter and godson as they came out of the busy shop yelling that they saw what happened. She glared again as they both looked more amused rather than concerned.

Harry threw an arm around her neck and apologized again, this time without the laughter. "Really, Hermione, I am sorry. Are you alright?"

She stuck her nose in the air pretending to ignore him when Rose interrupted her.

"Mum, remember what Hugo and I asked you this morning? Can we please, please, PLEASE go? Please?" Rose begged, James stood behind her with his hands clasped together as if praying for her to say yes. Harry and Ginny looked at her curiously while Draco was about to open his mouth to say no. As Hermione guessed that he was already aware of the nature of their request she quickly made a motion for him to not say anything.

"I'm guessing everybody wants to go? All of your cousins too, no doubt?" Hermione asked calmly, watching as her daughters face lit up and she nodded in excitement. Hermione feigned a thoughtful stare, tapping on her chin before answering.

"Rose, where is it you-" Harry began to ask when Hermione cut him off, smiling wickedly.

"Rose, go gather up the rest of the group. Uncle Harry has agreed to take all of you to meet Patronus. Oh, Hogwarts students only, the younger ones need to stay at the shop." She told her daughter proudly, slapping Harry on the back roughly. He looked at his friend confused before realizing what he'd been volunteered for, his eyes widening

_Want to drop me like a sack of potatoes? Well take that, Potter!_

Harry opened his mouth to protest when Rose squealed loudly as she ran into the crowded joke shop to announce the reason for her joy. James followed behind her, and Harry's protests fell on deaf ears as they were gone, and could be seen in the window telling their friends the news. He whipped his head over to Hermione who looked pleasantly pleased with herself. Draco and Ginny watched the exchange with grins on their faces.

"The sorting hat was wrong! You're a bloody Slytherin!" Harry whined, pinching her arm lightly. Hermione looked at him innocently while she rubbed her arm, and Ginny snorted in order to keep a laugh from coming out. The redhead rubbed her husbands arm in mock sympathy.

"Darling, it's alright. I love those Patronus boys, especially that blue haired one. I'll go with you to meet them." Harry narrowed his eyes at his wife and Ginny waggled her eyebrows playfully.

"He's right shaggable, that one." She added playfully, kissing his cheek. Harry grabbed her and spun her around into his arms, not caring that anyone watched. Hermione watched as the two laughed and played as if they were still nineteen year old newlyweds and a part of her felt a slice of jealously at how perfect the two were.

"I'll not have my wife lusting after some smurf." Harry called out dramatically as he kissed her.

"They're a bit sickening, eh?" Hermione heard Draco whisper to her jokingly. She could feel the ghost of his lips graze her earlobe and she felt her skin rise as if suddenly SHE was eighteen all over again. She pursed her lips for a second as if deep in thought then turned to him and nodded.

"Makes you want to retch." She whispered back on her toes, her hand on his shoulder. He winked at her for the second time of the day.

"Guess this is as good a time as ever for that drink, don't you think, Draco?" Hermione asked, her voice purposefully loud so that Harry could hear, bringing him out of his mushy moment with his wife. Hermione gave a satisfied grin as her best friend groaned once more.

"You're not really going to leave me alone with ALL of them, are you? I said I was sorry, and I did mean it." Harry told her genuinely causing Hermione to feel a small amount of pity for him. After all, there were a lot of Weasley and Weasley related children that currently went to Hogwarts. She watched as the group of girls and boys made their way through the doors of WWW, waiting expectantly at their uncle. She felt better as Katie (née Bell) and Angelina (née Spinnet) Weasley offered their help in chaperoning the group. Rose and Lily waited anxiously while Hermione tried to tune out the conversation of looks going on between her son and Scorpius.

"Sorry Potter but the lady owes me a drink and I intend on making her pay back her debt. It's only fair and you know I'm all about fairness." Draco answered for her, smirking at the small group of Hogwarts students that were starring at Harry impatiently. Harry laughed sarcastically at Draco and Ginny dragged her husband down the path where the band would be playing later.

"Rose, Hugo, don't give your aunts or uncle any trouble, or we're going straight home!" Hermione called out as they left, waving as they smiled at her.

"Scorpius-" Draco yelled warningly.

"Yeah dad, I know!" He yelled. They watched as the blonde pushed Hugo through the crowd and laughed as the younger boy pushed him back, the two boys rough housing as they left. Draco shook his head.

"We'll meet you in an hour or so! We can watch the parade from Fred and George's balcony!" Ginny yelled at them. Hermione nodded in agreement. She looked over to Draco who was pointing Stella in the right direction. They watched as the airy girl ran up to the rest of the group where Albus patiently waited for her.

"You know, every time I see her, she me tells to watch for Nargles. Have you even heard of a Nargle? I looked it up after she told me the first time. They don't exist." Hermione snorted as he shook his head.

"Well, she's not mad but seeing as she is Luna's daughter. The Lovegood-Longbottom clan are very in tune to things that aren't in plain sight, you know." She told him, as they walked through the busy street. He rolled his eyes at the notion.

The two made their way down the street talking about work and other small things when they arrived at a hole in the wall pub that she'd never been to before. As they entered, she silently marveled at how he helped her out of her coat, holding it along with his own.

_Pureblood manners being put to good use. _

"You seem to have avoided having too many pictures taken of you today." Draco told her. She nodded with an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, thank Merlin. Harry tried to put a notice-me-not charm on me before we left the house. You usually takes the bulk of the crowds away but not all of them. Unfortunately, I know that a picture of me falling on my ass will make it somewhere in wizarding print."

"Technically, Granger, _**I **_fell on my arse. You happened to use me as a cushion." She laughed and lifted her butter beer to drink.

"Right. Thank you for that, again. Harry can be such a pest." She joked. Draco smirked at her, putting his drink down on the bar.

"I've been trying to explain that to the world for years, no one listens." He told her in mock seriousness; she scowled at him playfully in return.

"So, I never got to properly thank you for your gift. I have it on display in my office at St. Mungo's and the staff think that I'm being a little bitter. I think, however, that it was very thoughtful." She told him with a slight blush of red. He nodded, quietly sipping his drink.

"Well, you know us Malfoy's, nothing if not thoughtful." He told her, and she snorted.

"You're welcome, Granger." Hermione felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach as her surname rolled off his tongue.

"You haven't called me by my last name since we were kids. Come to think of it, you never called me Weasley the entire time I was with Ronald." She remarked with a slight grin at the corner of her lips, as if a quiet challenge was there. She swore that for a second his eyes flickered towards said lips and the thought made her stomach flip once again.

"I never saw you as a Weasley. Hermione Weasley never suited you. Granger is much better." He told her flippantly as he ordered them another round of butter beers. She scrunched her nose slightly at the statement and wanted to ask him what he meant but was afraid it would come off as snappish. He snorted softly at the look on her face.

"There's no hidden meaning, _Hermione_. I just enjoy calling you Granger for two reasons. One, you're the only Granger I know and two, well, if I were to say 'Weasley', a bunch of obnoxious reds would turn my way." She slapped his arm playfully and hid a smile behind her glass.

"Still as violent as ever." He commented behind his cup and she ignored him, continuing the conversation.

"You know, before Ron and I married, I wasn't going to take his name. I was actually going to keep my maiden name maybe even hyphenate it. We had this huge row two weeks before the wedding but my mum and his mum both convinced me to take on his name. The proper wife thing to do, I suppose." Hermione told him, starring off, making Draco think she was reliving the memory in a small way. He stared at her until she turned to look at him and he quickly averted his eyes, clearing his throat.

"I can't say much about that. I mean, even though Astoria and I were only married for five years, she took the Malfoy name. We stayed in the marriage long enough to get our separate inheritance's and the next day we went our separate ways." Hermione's eyes widened slightly. She hadn't been aware of the fact that it had been an arranged marriage and the face she made cause Draco to laugh.

"Contracted marriages still happen amongst some pureblood families, although I'm sure that it will be considerably less with my sons generation. It was my father's way of insuring an heir to his the family line. Astoria and I grew up together so we knew the contract was in order and after the war, we got married. Scorpius was unfortunately not a part of Astoria's plan and once our time was up, she relinquished parental rights to me. For the best really, she wasn't meant to be a mother." Draco told her simply. Hermione suddenly felt a great pity for the younger Malfoy. She couldn't imagine what it must feel like to know your mother and yet not have even the slightest relationship with her.

"I can't imagine not being there for everything that Rose and Hugo do." Hermione confessed, sipping her butter beer. Draco nodded, placing his drink back onto the table.

"I wouldn't expect you to and I agree with you, as well. He can be a wart and then some but I love him..." She smiled at him brightly, her face turning into confusion as he stopped in the middle of his sentence and his face darkened considerably. She touched his arm in concern, putting her drink down.

"Draco? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, genuinely concerned.

"Don't look now, Hermione, but I believe your ex-husband is coming to have words with us." Draco told her as he glared at the redhead. Ron could be seen slipping through the now crowded bar to speak with them. Hermione made to turn her head when Draco placed his hand on hers and subtly shook his head. She felt the onsets of a headache coming on, and she wanted nothing more than to disappear.

_This is the last thing that I need right now._

She pulled out a couple galleons, and Draco stopped her.

"I'll get this one." Draco told her.

"I thought I owed you a drink." Hermione said, confused. Her nerves racing a bit as she knew Ron's outburst was soon to come as she saw Draco's glance leave her face what felt like fifteen seconds. She melted a bit as he winked at her, telling the waitress to put it on his tab.

"Well, considering that your ex is about to ruin our chat, you can just buy me dinner later." He stood up and grabbed her coat as the redhead approached them.

_Dinner?_

The thought caught her so off guard that she blinked at him stupidly, forgetting about Ron until Draco spoke again.

"Weasley, always a pleasure." Draco drawled, his voice sounding nearly identical to the late Professor Snape. She clenched her fists slightly, not wanting to ruin her day and turned to face him. The man she once called 'husband' looked livid with her and Hermione felt as if they were kids in school all over again.

"Happy Merlin's Day, Ronald. I'm sorry but if you'll excuse us-" Hermione tried to calmly say before she was interrupted.

"Is he your new boyfriend now, Hermione? If he is, I won't allow it. I don't want him around Rose and Hugo. It's bad enough that-"

"Excuse me? Allow?" Hermione's small frame tensed and she stared at him with such malice that it surprised Ron.

"You won't **_ALLOW_** me to date someone? I'll have you know that **WE**-" She motioned between the two of them with her wand causing Ron to think that a hex could be in his near future, making him step back.

"WE…" She said again, feeling herself get angrier by the second.

"…are no longer married. AS IF marriage vows stopped YOU from being 'allowed' to screw around with other people. I'm sorry, Ronald, but weren't you engaged while we were married? Draco will be around Rose and Hugo as much as I see fit, so please, spare me your dramatics." Hermione snapped, Draco give her a proud grin as he watched the fiery brunette shut down any further outbursts from her ex-husband.

She looked around to see that the patrons of the small pub were now staring at them. The women in the pub shared looks of disgust towards Ron, muttering amongst themselves. Realizing that she had just yelled at Ron in public caused her to blush tomato red and she turned to Draco, who held out an arm for her and maintained a slightly amused smirk. The crowd parted for them a bit and some people even whistled, which earned a "piss off" from Ron as they made their way back onto the now fully crowded Diagon Alley.

"Never knew you had it in you, Granger." Draco whispered into her ear as they made their way back to WWW. Hermione shivered slightly at the second time that his lips grazed her ear. She felt her anger slip out of her slowly and shrugged as if it were nothing.

"So, now that we've had a drink, when will you be buying me dinner? A poor chap such as myself has to take every free meal that he can get." Draco told her, scrunching his nose snobbishly at a street vender selling what looked to be a corn dog magicked into the shape of a dog on a stick. She rolled her eyes at him, and pulled him away before he said anything rude.

"A poor chap such as yourself? I didn't know we were in an alternate universe." Hermione teased.

"Yes, I also think Harry Potter is the greatest man who's ever lived and I wish my son would have gotten into Hufflepuff." Draco told her sarcastically, eyeing the broom display in the window. Hermione's face grew red as she attempted to keep herself from laughing, her eyes watering. Draco looked around, glaring at the people who stared as if she were mad.

"Compose yourself, Granger, before word gets out that you've got muggle born germs." Draco told her, pulling her down the way. She elbowed him, her giggles dying down, but her face bright as they made their way to the large statue of Fred and George. Draco felt his chest swell in a way he wasn't accustomed to as he watched her. She was enjoying herself so much and he looked down to see her eyes dancing as she looked through the crowd for her children.

"You know, Granger-"

"MUM!" They both looked up to see Rose running towards them, slicing through the crowd.

"HE GAVE ME HIS JACKET! HE GAVE ME HIS JACKET!" Draco swore for an instant that he saw a fourteen year old Hermione running towards them, his trance breaking only when the petite arm slipped out of his to greet her daughter. The usually prudish teenager was sporting a dyed black manticore jacket over her muggle clothes and seemed as if she could walk on air if you asked her to.

"Honey, what are you talking-" Hermione started, a smile pressed on her face.

"He. Gave. Me. His. Tour. Jacket." Rose squealed, holding onto Hermione's arms as she jumped up and down. She smiled at how excited her daughter was and nodded her head as the girl went on and on without stopping for breath. Before she could say anything in return, Rose swept into the store with Lily and Stella and Hermione turned to Draco completely dumbstruck.

"Tell me that we weren't that horrible at fourteen." Hermione said, rubbing her ears.

"More like twelve, in your case. It was Lockhart this, and Lockhart that." Harry told her, slinging an arm around her neck. Draco turned to look at her incredulously.

"That buffoon, honestly?" He asked her. Hermione shot Harry a death glare before elbowing him and ignored Draco's question (which made the blonde store it mentally for later conversation).

"How did it go?" Hermione asked him. Draco nodded in the direction the group came from as Hugo and James walked up with a very annoyed Scorpius and Albus. Ginny followed behind them, shaking her head as she finally rested against the statue of one of her mischievous brothers. Harry shook his head as well, smiling slightly at his son and his friend. Scorpius looked up at his father and said nothing and Draco simply raised an eyebrow at him as the four boys walked into the shop.

"I'm guessing it wasn't fun for all?" Hermione asked as she noticed the complete difference in attitude. She smiled at Draco who craned his neck to see where his son was off to, trying not to appear concerned.

_A closet softie._

"Well…we got in easily enough and the band was really nice to the kids." Harry started, and then he took in a deep breath before continuing.

"Then, the drummer personally helped Scorpius play the drums, which upset Rose-"

"And then Rosie got the singers attention and Stella sat with the keyboard player. Which made Albus stop talking to everyone and Scorpius getting mad at the girls BECAUSE Albus stopped talking-"

"And then Scorpius took a picture kissing the drummers cheek-"

"Then Stella, Lily and Rose took pictures with all of the boys in the band-"

"…This led to the jacket giving, which led to the sour looks on our sons faces." Harry explained, looking at Draco and rolling his eyes; the older Slytherin snorted in agreement. Hermione and Ginny suppressed a knowing smile, not wanting to remind Harry that he was exactly the same way.

"Why is it, that when we finally think we're done with teenage angst, it just comes right back for a second helping?" Ginny asked, rubbing her forehead as the four adults made their way to Fred and George's apartment.

"I was a rather pleasant teen, myself. Didn't indulge in the drama." Draco drawled as they finally made it to the balcony. The three older Gryffindors stopped in their tracks and starred at him in a type of shock. He walked past them and over to his pouting son, ignoring their cackles that lasted until the parade started ten minutes later.

* * *

As Hermione leaned over the railing, cheering along with the crowd as they listened to her children's favorite band.

"So, what's this I hear about you and Malfoy buddying up for dinner?" Ginny whispered, enjoying the blush in her friends face.

"Is nothing sacred in the wizarding world?" Hermione grumbled. "How did you even hear about that? I haven't even said yes to the man."

The redhead shrugged. "It's my inner eye."

Hermione leaned over to look at Draco who was currently talking qudditch with James and Harry as the rest of their group watched the parade. She looked back at Ginny who seemed to have been watching her glance over and stood grinning at her.

_I can't seriously be having this conversation._

"I don't know Gin. I just got divorced last week for Merlin's sake." She told Ginny in a whisper. She looked over at Rose who was currently screaming her heart out for the band below her. The fourteen year old looked so alive and carefree, something that a younger Hermione Granger would've killed to be. It made her heart swell a little at the fact that she was being a normal teenager, just as Hermione had hoped for her to be when she and Ron started their family. Hugo stood with a silly grin on his face; he kept the drummers purple lipstick on his cheek, pretending to drum along with them.

_It's way too soon to go on a date with someone. **Way too soon for them**. _

Her eyes flickered back up to Draco who seemed to look at her at the same time. She felt her stomach flip again and turned her attention back to Ginny.

"Your brother already saw us together and threw a shit fit in public. I didn't even tell him that the kids were here. He got me so flustered." Hermione whispered to her friend again, trying to ignore the fire in her veins and she thought back on the incident earlier.

Ginny shook her head and grabbed Hermione by the shoulders firmly.

"Who cares? You deserve a little fun, even if it is just a night or two-"

Hermione glared at her and Ginny rolled her eyes, shaking the older woman slightly.

"Screw Ron, it's your life now. Don't use the kids as an excuse. Let things happen if the opportunity comes. Enjoy it, Hermione, you deserve to be happy."

Her former sister-in-law smiled before letting Hermione go and walking over to her husband. Hermione pulled at Hugo and hugged him to her firmly, missing the closeness of her children. Seeing them, Rose let go of the railing and slammed into her free arm for a hug as well. She held each of them together as the two Hogwarts students screamed lyrics she'd never heard. Although they were not the picture of a perfect family, for the first time since Ron had left, she felt happy.

"I love you two. You know that, right?" Hermione yelled to them over their singing.

"We know mum." They chorused, rolling their eyes at one another as they twisted their way out of her grip and back to their friends.

She looked back over at Draco and smiled a little.

_Maybe Ginny's right..._

* * *

The next morning thousands of issues of Witch Weekly were sold under the tagline of : **HERMIONE GRANGER - THE NEXT MALFOY?**

**Authors Note: Enjoy! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE! - lyss**

**Updated April 13, 2011**


	5. Change Is Good

A/N: For those of you who have previous read the first four chapters, please note that each has been updated recently and that things might have changed.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"But Healer Granger, he's to die for!"

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose and continued to walk down the hall of the hospital. The woman walking next to her was a young witch named Sara who had been shadowing her for the past few weeks. Although she could be bright student at times, she had a horrible knack for mistaking her mentor for a gossip columnist. So as luck would have it, just as it was about time to take her leave for the day Hermione's "shadow" attacked her with a sack full of chatter about Draco Malfoy.

It had been a week since she'd graced Witch Weekly's cover and while her immediate staff had been tasteful enough not to talk about it, the rest of St. Mungo's found it all too interesting to pass up. Yet Sara seemed, to put it lightly, ecstatic with the update on the famous witch and dashing wizard. Although Hermione thought it was clear from her warning glares and all around media shy attitude that she would not discuss the issue it became painfully obvious that there was no way to avoid the attention short of finding a nice rock to hide under. While many people caught the hint after the first day of the article's birth there were always the ones who just _**had**_ to know. After a week of giving silent treatment and telling herself that she just needed to ignore them, Hermione's fuse was becoming dangerously short.

They turned the corner, reaching the Administrative wing where her office was. Her fellow Healers giving her looks of pity as they recognized the irritation etched on her face and the completely obliviously obnoxious girl chattering behind her. It was when the words "people think about" and "your children" slipped out of Sara's mouth in a single sentence that Hermione finally rounded on her.

"ENOUGH! Damn it! That is enough! I have asked you more than once and this is the FINAL time I will do so: Leave the issue of my personal life alone. Also, do not mention my children, ever again."

Her outburst caused the younger witch to stumble back, her mouth agape. After observing Hermione for so long, Sara knew that the veteran healer's tone never grew loud or forceful when she spoke to her colleagues. Bossy at times, yes, but she was never yelling to get her point across. Hermione paused, seeing if the woman would take a hint not to press the subject, forcing herself to take slow but deep breaths to calm herself down. The other administrative staff had already begun poking their heads out of their offices, each praying to Merlin that the girl knew better than to continue on.

She looked at Sara for a second and deciding that the younger woman had gotten the point made to continue to her office. The girl bit her lip, daring to take a step after her as she spoke again.

"Oh! But Healer Granger, he's-"

Just as Hermione turned, a hex on the tip of her tongue, she felt her wand get snatched out of her hand. The action surprising her into turning to see who was responsible for ruining her moment of destruction and in turn cursing mentally when she saw her boss standing next to her.

"I think it best that you leave for the day, Ms. Garrett. I'll be sure to speak to your professor about proper conversation when in a work environment." Hermione took this time to glare at Sara, who bowed her head shamefully. Still seething, Hermione said nothing as the younger girl turned to walk away. She turned to her boss, her hand impatiently motioning for the return of her wand. Her superior waited patiently until Sara turned the corner before handing Hermione her wand. She smiled as her annoyed Senior Healer rolled her eyes and made her way to the Chief Healer's office without a single word being said.

"I cannot believe the nerve of that little…UGH." She grumbled to herself as she sat down in a huff. The sound of her boss closing the door barely registered as she glared off in space.

_I hate Witch Weekly. I hate Sara. I hate cameramen. I hate Ron. MERLIN do I hate Ron. I wish I could just chop-_

"Whenever you're finished with your temper tantrum just let me know." Hermione looked up and her face turned a bit red, properly embarrassed as she saw Penelope Wood (née Clearwater) starring at her in a quite amused fashion. The brunette sighed, running a hand over her face tiredly before nodding. The reality of her actions over the past couple minutes hit her and she groaned at how juvenile it would have been for her to nearly hex the younger intern.

"I'm sorry, Penny. It won't happen again." She said finally, her shoulders dropping. It felt as if the months of pent up frustration and exhaustion had unleashed and she would very much enjoy a long pitiful cry.

The amused smile on Penelope's face vanished and she left her position as her desk to sit next to her best Healer, but more importantly one of her better friends. She sat quietly, listening as Hermione slowly began to talk.

"Oh gods, Pen, it's so messed up. We had this wonderful day at the festival and then this silly article came out. I had that stupid DCW entrance meeting with Corner and the social worker on Wednesday and all they did was look down on me the entire time I was there. The house is just so horrid now, especially being there alone. It doesn't even feel like an actual home anymore and I love that house. Then with everyone giving me either a look of pity or asking my obnoxious questions about my new "love life", it's…ohh, it's just so messy. All of it." She closed her eyes, calming herself down by breathing carefully.

Penelope waited before speaking, smiling only when Hermione looked up and rolled her eyes. "On top of it all, I'M now a mess." She joked, trying to quickly brush it off.

"Alright, when you told me what Ronald did to you in August I insisted you take leave. I told you to take a week off from your never ending amount of well earned vacation time so that you could sort yourself out, take time to heal. Do you remember?" She paused, giving Hermione a knowing look and continuing when she opened her mouth to argue.

"You refused and said that you needed to put up a strong front for the kids and I pushed away my opinion on the matter. Oliver told me that I was doing the right thing by not getting involved and thinking like your boss but enough is enough. You've been through the ringer. You've been putting in double the shifts to stay away from the house since the kids left and it needs to stop. You don't talk to anyone. You haven't come to Friday lunches with Ginny, Luna and I and you stay home by yourself on the odd chance that you're not here. Stupidly, I was going to let you keep going like this but the Hermione Granger I know doesn't get to the point of hexing a silly intern for stupid asking questions. At least, not since she was an intern herself trying to hex the nurse training her..." Her tone changed from firm to gentle and Hermione smiled at the last comment, shaking her head.

"Look, with everything that's happened, I think that this article was just the thing you didn't need to break your back. I'm going to have Summer take on the Emergency Wing and put you on extended leave." Hermione shot up instantly, shaking her head.

"No! I know I've been on edge but honestly, extended leave? It's completely out of the question! What the hell am I supposed to do?" She protested, pacing back and forth.

"It's just until you get yourself in a good spot. I'm not firing you, Hermione, and you're not on leave without pay. It's just until January when you're done with the custody hearing. You can be back to whining and screaming wizards as soon as January 7th. Go on holiday for a few weeks or read your library over, I don't care, the kids will come home and you can spend a full Christmas break with them." Penelope said, waving her hand flippantly as Hermione opened her mouth to argue.

"I-" She started, trying to find a valid argument that didn't involve stomping her foot childishly in the process. Penelope stood up and put her hands on Hermione's shoulders, shaking her lightly.

"It's for the best, really, it is. You're focusing so much on work in order to get away from all this but it's not working. What's going to happen when the kids come home for holiday and you haven't dealt with any of this?" Penelope asked carefully.

She groaned before plopping herself down on the seat once more. She sat there quietly, a second away from admitting defeat, until a thought burst in her head.

"As wonderful as this plan sounds, it's going to look horrible to the Child Welfare Committee if they find that I took a month and half holiday for 'my mental state'." The disdain in her voice was apparent as she emphasized the last part of her argument.

"The last thing I need is for the headline '**Hermione Granger Out of Work, Mental State Questioned', **_custody update on page four'_ to go flying to every nosy-nelly in the country."_  
_

Penelope frowned and began tapping her quill against her mouth as she tried to think of a way around the small hiccup in her plan. She knew that if left to continue working at her current pace, Hermione would wear herself thin and be of no use to anyone come the stressful weeks of the DCW review. She looked around her office, hoping that something would spark an idea, when she caught a small office memo sticking to one of her daily documents. Picking it up, she grinned at her best friend, earning a questioning stare in return.

"I have a solution that will appease the both of us." She said triumphantly, waving the small piece of paper in her hand before summoning the materials to write out a few letters.

"I'm all ears." Hermione grumbled, craning her neck to see what exactly her friend was so excited about.

"Lucinda from Preventative Healing has been interviewing people for weeks because one of her best researchers is being transfered out of country. It seems that the last person she hired didn't take and until she can hire and train a new one, she's a bit short staffed. It works perfectly as you're already trained for that kind of work. You can still work part-time and it gets Lucinda to stop writing me every two hours about her staff issue. If anyone starts asking about the job change, we can tell them the truth: The media outlets involved in covering your current divorce proceedings have been a hazard in the emergency room and they've been harassing our staff for personal information. Your temporary job move is to the benefit of the hospital and you will return to your position in the emergency wing once the proceedings have finished." Penelope told her as she scratched a note out for the other healer. The older woman busied herself, quickly and quietly setting everything into motion.

Hermione sat quietly, surprised by the offer set before her.

_Doesn't sound half bad..._ She thought, musing over how nice it could be to sit in a library reading all day long. She started to mentally list any reason not to go along with it when a very blonde reason popped into her head.

The potions firm that Draco worked in had a sector strictly for sensitive medicinal potions that worked alongside St. Mungo's exclusively through the preventative healing unit. If word got out that Hermione was on leave in order to work with the branch involved in this partnership, she was sure she'd be in for a whole new batch of rumors. She watched Penelope sit at her desk to fine tune the details of the scheme, Hermione attempted to scowl at her boss. There weren't many that could pull a fast one over the great Hermione Granger but when it happened she always felt a mix of anger, frustration and admiration towards them.

"Stop looking so glum. You'll be fine. You'll come back refreshed and I'll have my Senior Healer back in her best form. Two months means eight Friday lunches that I'm ordering you to go to as your boss and it means you're going to do your damnedest to make sure my godson and his sister are where they belong. Now, Summer is expecting you at the Emergency Wing for a run through of her temporary responsibilities."

She narrowed her eyes as Penelope continued scratching away on her parchment, not looking up to see her.

"You've decided for me then?"

"Yes."

"You're not leaving me any choice?" She asked pitifully, already getting up to the door.

"No, I'm not. See you on Friday, Hermione." With those parting words, Hermione stepped out of the office closing the door behind her quietly.

* * *

By the time she parted ways with Summer the feeling of dread over not coming to work had faded and she was beginning to agree that time away could be beneficial. Glancing at her wristwatch she cringed, realizing that it was nearly nine o'clock.

"Crap, I promised mum I'd be in for dinner tonight." She grumbled to herself. She hurried toward her office busying herself with mentally going over what she would write and failed to notice the man standing next to her office door. As she was about to tap her wand against the door in order to key herself in, she yelled out in surprise as the man tapped her on the shoulder. She stuck her wand into his chest with the intent to send him soaring away when she took in his face, causing her to drop her attack and place her hand on her mouth in a sort of post-fright.

"Merlin, Granger! Didn't you see me?" His own heart was racing at the fact that she could've very well sent him four floors down to the emergency wing. She was about to say something when Penelope rushed down the hall.

"Hermione, are you alright…" The head Healer stopped herself from continuing, raising an eyebrow skeptically at the sight of two adults looking as if they were frightened out of their wits. She looked over Draco curiously, wondering what he was doing here. Draco blinked back at her lamely, seemingly dumbstruck at the moment. The ex-ravenclaw smirked slightly before nodding over at Hermione to see if she was alright, turning back to her office when she received a look affirming her safety.

"Sorry for nearly cursing you. I didn't see you." She said simply as she found her voice. The affronted look on Draco's face softened considerably as he nodded, scratching the back of his neck at the awkwardness of the situation.

"Mind if I…" He trailed off, gesturing toward the door before she sprung into action, seemingly remembering herself instantly. The shift in her demeanor caused him to step back cautiously.

"Oh! Yes, of course, come in. I have to write a quick note but, yes, come in." She said tapping her wand against the door and closing it behind him. She motioned for him to take a seat and was soon in search of a quill and spare parchment. Draco watched slightly amused and partially baffled as the woman who was literally frightened speechless a mere moment ago was now abuzz, fetching writing utensils and moving things around her office quickly. He noticed that her usually wavy and tame brown hair was reminiscent of their school days and found that he liked the frizzy bushy curls that she tied back.

"I guess you weren't joking about keeping it in your office." He commented, pointing to the Witch Weekly frame on the wall. Hermione grinned as she looked up from her letter, nodding.

"I think everyone should be investing in their wonky magazine, especially with us on the cover this past week." She grumbled, sending her letter away to her parent's house. Draco snorted in response.

"I've had to resist hexing a few of their most faithful readers." He mumbled, plucking a picture off of her desk. A much younger Hermione with what looked like a four year old Rose and a two year old Hugo smiled back at him in the muggle photo.

"Rose would kill me if she knew I had that here. It's apparently outrageous to a fourteen year old to have any baby memorabilia around." Hermione told him smiling. Draco nodded in agreement thinking of his own desk where a similar picture of his son sat. As he placed the picture back in it's designated spot, he realized that she was now packing a small box of books and folders.

"So, what did you need Draco?" She asked, sending him a glance before continuing to pull things off of her shelves.

"I had to floo in an intern to the Emergency Wing. He caused a bit of an explosion-" He started when she stopped what she was doing and threw a look of annoyance his way.

"You know, sometimes that company of yours takes too many risks. I've had to sew you up a number of times. I swear, you lot ought to follow safety guidelines a bit more carefully." She chastised causing him to roll his eyes at her, he waved his hand at her as if shooing away the idea.

_What is it with everyone just waving me off today? _She thought grumpily as she continued packing.

"Yes, you've mentioned that fact before. As I was saying, I flooed him in and was curious to see if you'd killed and hid the body of any of your apprentices as well." He told her, giving her a very smug smile as she fumbled over her inkwell at the last part of his sentence. The guilt and anger came flooding back to her about nearly hexing Sara and he watched her stiffen for a few seconds before shaking it off.

"Not killed, but Merlin help me, I wanted to." She said fussily, pushing a book into her box a bit more forcefully than the one before it. Draco grinned, nodding quietly and not pressing the subject. As Hermione opened her mouth once more, Draco interrupted her.

"Did you quit your job or do you normally pack up your entire office at the end of the week?" He asked her, enjoying the small infuriated noise she gave him before closing her mouth. She sat down at her desk in a bit of a pout that made him want to smile. It wasn't everyday that he saw one of the most levelheaded witches he knew huff and puff like a five year old. He found it strangely endearing to see her so flustered and waited patiently for her to respond as she ran her hand through her hair.

"To answer both of your questions, the answer is no. I don't pack up my entire office every week and I didn't quit-"

"You were fired?" He asked pretending to sound like the gossipers they'd dealt with all week and failing miserably. She glared at him until he put his hands up to admit he was joking, the gesture causing her to forget her grouchiness and smile a bit.

"No, I was not fired. You prat." Hermione said, giving out a long melodramatic sigh before continuing on.

"I'm taking a leave of absence. Healer Wood thinks it best that I sort out my affairs and deal with 'the media circus that is my current life' away from the 'stress' of working. So, I'll be back at the start of the new year in hopes that all of this is over by then." She told him flatly, sounding not the least bit optimistic.

Draco stared at her, wondering if he had pushed the obviously sore subject too far too early when she continued.

"At least I'll be able to do _**some **_work while I'm gone. Not nearly enough, but some. I'll be working with Preventative Healing as a 'researcher' so that the DCW doesn't think I'm this big mental case." She looked at him pointedly and he chuckled.

"Ahh. Fetch didn't mention that you'd be working with us…" He told her teasingly, catching on to the implications behind her semi-annoyed glare as he rested his head back.

"Probably because his name is Justin Finch-_**Fletchley **_and he doesn't appreciate you calling him Fetch after all these years. Besides, it just happened. He probably doesn't know about it yet and I'm not working with you. I'm working from home and giving out general research assistance." She told him curtly. He rolled his eyes once more and nodded quietly, thinking about the new development. He was going to be in for a headache if any of the secretaries found out about them working together especially if any were friends with a certain newly divorced Lavender Brown.

As he came out of his thoughts, he realized that the buzzing bee that was Hermione was once again on the move. He smirked as he stood up, tapped his wand on her box and shrunk it, plucking Hermione's wand away from her as if she were a first year.

"Hey! I wasn't finished!" She told him, surprised by his movement. She thought fleetingly that her wand had been taken away from her twice in one evening and that her reflexes were telling her she was getting old.

"I'm sure you don't need EVERYTHING that's in your office. Besides, you owe me dinner and you didn't properly pay me back for having to deal with your lovely ex-husband. I'm famished, so lets go." He told her simply, twirling the wand in his fingers teasingly before quickly walking away towards the door.

She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms.

"Don't you think you should **_ask_** someone before you take them out? I don't think a gentlemen would steal a woman's wand and then demand her to go out to diner." She asked him grumpily. She surveyed the room, seeing more and more things that she ought to take home with her. Draco shrugged opening the door and grabbing her coat.

"I wasn't born in a barn Granger. Seeing as it's YOU taking me to dinner, and YOU paying, I see no reason to be gentlemen-like at all." His voice was so matter-of-fact that if it weren't for the smirk on his face, she wouldn't have known he was playing with her. She returned his smart-aleck remark with a smile, shaking her head.

"You really think the best thing for us to do right now is be seen at dinner together?"

* * *

Ten minutes of banter and a side-along apparition later, Draco found himself standing in front of a cozy restaurant. He made a slightly disapproving face at the neon sign that flickered "OPEN" on and off which earned a laugh from his muggle dinner date.

"You insisted that I pick. This is definitely someplace where no one will recognize us. Besides, it's just not too far away from my house." She told him, pointing in the direction of her home. They both took a second to make sure no one saw them, seeing as although she had a very active magical family they lived in a muggle neighborhood. She led him into the restaurant, waving to the waitresses as she walked directly to her booth in the corner and signaling a number two to a gray haired woman.

"I take it that you're a regular here." Draco said, slipping off his jacket.

"Of course. It's a great place to read and the kids love it here. In fact your son likes it here too, although I suspect it's because of one of the younger waitresses that work here." She told him playfully. He rolled his eyes and shook his head knowingly.

"That sounds like my son. They were a bit melodramatic last weekend, the whole 'Patronus' thing. I felt like I was in one of Rita Skeeter's crappy romance novels." His nose scrunched up, causing her to laugh.

"Hey, I for one am delighted that she turned her quick quill away from what she called journalism. I have to agree with you though, they were being a bit silly about not talking to each other after the parade." She smiled as the gray haired woman from before slipped two cups of tea in front of them. The two quickly ordered, and Draco watched as Hermione seemed to look ten times more relaxed than she did at the hospital. Hermione sighed happily and when she turned towards Draco once more she smiled at the curious look he gave her.

"Sorry, this place is just so far away from the reporters, the snotty interns and the hectic emergency room. It's nice to get away from it all, don't you think?" She asked, her hands cupped around her tea, blowing softly to cool the liquid. She felt her face go red as she caught his eyes flicker for an instant from her eyes to her lips.

"That's what flying is for, Granger. You should try it." He told her, cringing at the paper napkin and showing it to her with a look of disgust. The look on his face changed to that of a grin as she let out a very unladylike snort towards his snobbish antics.

"Sorry, the must be all out of silk. Oh, and flying to relax? Not a chance."

The two began bantering back and forth playfully. As the night continued on, the former classmates found themselves talking (often candidly) with the ease of people who had been friends their entire life. For Hermione, she found herself intrigued and more curious than she had been in a long time. It was as if she had been reading the same book for years when suddenly someone was offering whole volumes of new material that she could absorb. While on the other hand, Draco found that the picture he set in his head of Hermione Granger was growing fainter, as if it were taken all wrong and each part of it was becoming more and more of a mystery to him.

"Did you always want to be a Potions Master? Don't be angry but I never remembered you being horribly interested in the craft during school. I do remember you throwing things in Seamus and Neville's cauldrons all the time." Hermione narrowed her eyes accusingly as she mentioned the last bit which caused Draco to grin at the memory.

"Hey, you can't blame me for their muck-ups, Finnigan was forever blowing things up. Honestly, how do you blow your eyebrows off with a Wingardium Leviosa?" Draco protested adamantly. As Hermione badly hid a smile at the humorous memory, Draco gave her a mock glare and pointed at her accusingly.

"See. What a terrible Gryffindor you are, laughing at you classmates." He shook his head, feigning a look of shame which earned him a shove from the small laughing witch across from him.

"I am not! I'm a wonderful Gryffindor-"

"Oh sure, stubborn, bossy, 'do first and think last' I'd say you're right on target." He teased.

"Steady on! We're not like that!" She told him laughing.

Just as Draco were about to continue, their waitress interrupted him, causing Hermione to turn her attention towards her.

"Sorry love, but we're about to close up." She told them kindly, giving them both a knowing smile. Hermione gasped, looking at her watch to find that it was indeed much later than she thought it would be.

"Of course, sorry for keeping you here so late! We must have lost track of time." She explained, rummaging through her purse for her wallet. Draco watched as the woman scrunched her nose disapprovingly as she realized Hermione would be paying for the meal and not him. Quietly, while Hermione busied herself with her search for her pocketbook, Draco slipped a few muggle notes into the womans hand, earning himself a toothy grin from the old lady. He stood up, slipping on his jacket and grabbing Hermione's as well. She looked up, having furnished her wallet, and was momentarily confused as to why the waitress was ringing them up. Before she could open her mouth to protest, Draco interrupted her.

"I took care of it. Let's go before they lock us up in here." He told her, his lip curling a bit as he thought fleetingly of having to sleep in the 'quaint' diner.

"I thought the deal was that I'd pay for dinner so that we'd be even." Hermione asked him curiously as he helped her slip on her coat.

"You'll get it next time." He told her shrugging, inwardly he was still cursing the old woman for interrupting Hermione's laugh.

_Next time?_ She could feel the flutter of her stomach as she imagined spending more time unlocking the new and interesting mystery that was Draco Malfoy. The waitress winked at her as if she knew exactly what she was thinking and Hermione had to duck her head in order to keep from Draco seeing the blush in her cheeks as she exited the warm restaurant. She thought of Ginny's advice last week and thanked any higher power for the fact that the her reddened face could be attributed to the slight cold of the outside wind.

Draco found himself starring at her as she walked out of the restaurant. Her hair was still frizzy from work and a few strands flew over her face in what appeared to be an annoying fashion for her. He watched as she tried to slip it behind her ear only for it to find it's way back to grazing her cheek or sliding over her eyes. He wondered briefly how she could look so much the same from their time at Hogwarts and yet entirely different at the same time. It was almost bothersome to the older Slytherin how when she turned in his direction, she gave him a small smile before turning her back towards him once more. He had encountered many witches over his time as a single father. There were women who played hard to get and some who were aggressive to the point of it being a bit scary but all of the women he'd met had in common at least two things: They were all of them stunning and they always tried their best to land him.

It was almost irksome for him that it would be Hermione Granger that interested him more than any of the others. She didn't bother to hide all of the cracks in her foundation and yet seemed so horribly stable amidst her chaos that Draco envied her. He turned his attention away at the sound of the waitress talking to him, the gray haired woman shook her head with a smile as she handed over his change.

"She's a lovely woman, sir. You wouldn't want to leave her to wait out in the cold for too long." She told him, a bit of a smirk on her face.

He gave her a quiet and questioning glance before turning and making his way out of the restaurant leaving the old woman to laugh to herself as she watched them go.

* * *

"Thank you for dinner. Although, I'm not sure when I'll be paying off this favor if you continue beating me to the punch." Hermione told him playfully as he exited the diner.

"I'd imagine it'd be soon, seeing as we'll probably be working together. I won't lie, I'm glad to be rid of Delphine in exchange for you, Granger. She smelled like a mix of potpourri and cats." Hermione made a face and laughed as she saw Draco making the same one as she was.

"I guess I'll be seeing you then." Hermione told him, standing aside. He looked at her questioningly and before he could ask she spoke.

"My house isn't far from here at all. The roads are lit well and it's not too nippy out so I'm going to walk."

"Would you like some company? I don't fancy a woman walking alone at night." He snorted when he saw the indignant look on her face. "Not that you can't take care of yourself, Granger. In fact, I'm sure you could turn a man like Greyback into a tea cozy. Nonetheless, it is the gentleman-like thing to do and seeing as I paid I am required to act like a gentlemen until you're at your front door, don't you think?" He told her smoothly, his arm extended out, motioning for her to show the way.

She smiled, finding that she was glad to accept his company as the two began to walk.

"You never answered my question earlier, why'd you become a Potions Master?" She asked, breaking the silence between the two.

"Simple, really. After the war, my father's investments were all broken up-seeing as most of the men he did business with were either in Azkaban or dead. I wouldn't be eligible for my inheritance until my marriage with Astoria had fulfilled it's contract either, so I was in a bit of a bind. That's why before Astoria graduated from Hogwarts the year after the war ended, I got a job at The Flamel Firm as a Pre-Master in Potions. I was lucky as Severus had taught me since I could see over his table. It was pretty much the only skill I could use as I left school so early. I was lucky to get a job at all seeing as not many people wanted to hire someone like me." He spoke carefully, speaking the last three words with bitterness that saddened her.

There was a quiet moment that passed them before Hermione finally spoke.

"It took a lot of courage to do what you did when we were younger." Draco looked at her incredulously, as it was not what he was expecting to hear.

"Courage? I think your mistaken, Granger. There was no courage in-"

"Honestly! It took a lot of guts to do what you did. I'm not stupid Draco, while Harry's face might have been hard to identify that day at Malfoy manor, mine and Ron's certainly were not. You knew exactly who we were and you never admitted to who we were. If you had, they would have summoned Voldemort instantly and your family would've been rewarded handsomely for it but you still chose not to. I also know that if it weren't for the others arrival, you would have taken Dumbledore's offer for help that night in the astronomy tower." Her voice was filled with conviction as she spoke, trying to be gentle yet firm at the same time. She glanced up at him and could see him clenching his jaw, flicking his blonde hair out of his eyes. It appeared mostly that he was annoyed with what she'd said.

While Hermione realized that she might have overstepped her bounds, she felt no remorse for doing so. The argument about Draco Malfoy's innocence had been a frequent one between her and Ron when they spoke of the survivors of the war; the argument grew especially heated once their children became best friends. She stood her ground, knowing that they would have been killed instantly had Draco said anything of their identity to his crazy aunt. Harry himself still said that Draco would've dropped his wand that night and that was good enough for her.

They stayed in the sort of awkward, thoughtful silence until they reached the front lawn of her home. She lived in a modest two story home that Draco thought looked comfortable even from the outside. He noticed little things as he walked up, the 'Weasley' on the letterbox and the wind chimes with Rose and Hugo's names on them. He found that although he didn't mean to, he felt strange walking towards the front door.

"I've upset you."

Her statement seemed to bring him out of his thoughts and when he turned to look at her fully she swore her knees wanted to give out on her. The blonde had a towering height over her and when he stared down at her with his grey eyes, she felt immobilized. He let out a frustrated breath and Hermione stood painfully still as he caught a strand of her hair and moved it away from her face, pushing it gently behind her ear. She could feel his fingertip ghost over her brow as he did so and the warmth of his hand so close to her cold kissed face made her want to lean into him.

"You're a strange witch, Granger. You always have been." He mused and while she would usually have taken that as an insult, it sounded almost affection coming from him. She raised an eyebrow questioningly and the two seemed content to not say anything until a loud whining 'meow' sounded below them, walking in and out of their legs. Hermione mentally cursed the innocent animal as she was still rather curious to know what he meant by that.

"Sorry about her. Although, she usually doesn't like many people so you might be inclined to feel flattered." He nodded. They stood awkwardly for a moment and Hermione realized that he was either waiting for her to invite him in or to say goodbye. While she was in no rush to tell him goodbye, the thought of bringing another man into her home suddenly frightened her. He stared at her for a second and sensing that she was about as lost as he was, decided to step back casually.

"I ought to get going..."

"Oh, of course. Thank you again for dinner, it was lovely." She told him, feeling guilty for having such a nice time with him and not inviting him in. He nodded quietly and turned to apparate when her voice called out to him once more.

"I really am sorry if I made you upset. It wasn't my intention."

He turned and once again Hermione felt her knees try to buckle under her as he granted her a truly wonderful smile.

"You didn't, Granger." With that, her apparated away, leaving Hermione to stare at the space he was just in. The kneazle meowed once more, snapping her out of her small trance.

"I need Ginny."

* * *

"Ginny! Are you in?" Hermione called out as she walked through their floo. The lights were still on in their living room so she felt better knowing that she most likely hadn't woken anyone up. She heard a rustling up stairs and a few choice words from the kitchen before the inevitable footsteps made their way towards her.

"Hermione, what's going on? Are you alright? Is something wrong at the house? The kids?" She turned to see Harry with his wand ready, rushing towards her.

"Everything's fine, Harry. Where's Ginny?" She asked, determined to talk to her friend immediately. Before Harry could say anything he was interrupted by the pounding footsteps down the stairs.

"Dad! Is everything alright? Who was it yelling for m- Aunt Mione! Are you alright?" Teddy asked quickly, brandishing his wand only for it to be pushed down by Harry.

"I'm fine Teddy. I have to speak to your mum, is she here?" Hermione asked again, walking past both gaping faces and craning her neck upwards towards the stairs. Harry looked at her as if she had grown three heads.

"Of course she's here, it is almost midnight after all. Hey, Hermione!" Harry called after her as Hermione made her way into the kitchen to find her redheaded friend. She cursed aloud as she didn't spot her and felt as if she were going to topple over as she found her feet suddenly stuck to the ground. As best as she could, she whipped her head around and found Harry had pointed his wand at her feet and was currently walking towards her.

"Harry Potter you undo this spell right now or I'll throttle you while you sleep!" She screeched, trying to lift her foot up and finding that she couldn't.

"Not until you tell me what's going on. It's almost midnight and you storm into my house looking for my wife. I have a right to know what's going - stop glaring at me like that!" He grumbled, feeling slightly unnerved by the unwavering anger in his best friends eyes.

"Nothing is going on, Harry James." She spat frustratingly, crossing her arms. Harry winced at the use of his middle name but stood his ground.

"Nothing is going on yet your here and you refuse to talk to me-"

"GINNNNNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYY!" Hermione yelled, causing Harry to cover his ears. When she finished, he nervously put them down and began glaring at her.

"That was just uncalled for-" He stopped when she held her hand up for him to be quiet, counting down her fingers from three to one. On cue, they both heard a string of curse words as someone bounded their way downstairs. Harry groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he could feel the impending headache coming on. He stuck his tongue out at Hermione as she stood smugly, still stuck to the kitchen floor.

"That's just lovely." He grumbled as he could hear Teddy snickering in the corner of the room. He was about to scold the boy when the kitchen door swung open and Ginny, with her hair a mess and in a dressing gown and slippers starred at all three of them darkly. Teddy quickly pointed at Harry and Hermione who both shot annoyed looks his way. While at first she was ready to yell at whoever had woken her up, it took her a few moments to realize that Hermione was standing in her kitchen.

"Hermione? Oh, is everything alright? Something with the house? The kids are okay, right?" Her voice etched with concern rather than annoyance, much to the two wizards surprise.

"No, no everything's fine, everyone is fine. Oh, Gin, I'm so sorry for just barging in like this but I had to talk to someone." Hermione told her, her voice sounding the complete opposite of the angry hiss she gave Harry a minute ago. Ginny walked over to her shaking her head and enveloped her in a hug. Harry shook his head, at a complete lost for words as he watched two of the most important women in his life be completely infuriating. Teddy on the other hand looked plain confused.

"Come, Harry will make us a spot of tea and we can talk in the living room - what in the world is wrong with your feet?" They both looked down to see the blue gel-like substance that was cementing her to the spot had covered her entire feet.

"Harry hexed me." She said accusingly, sticking her tongue out at him. Ginny gasped, turning around and pointing her wand at him.

"Harry James! How dare you? She was just coming to talk to me. Undo it or your sleeping in the kids rooms tonight." She warned. Harry gaped at his wife, pointing grouchily at Hermione.

"She started it! All I did was ask her what was wrong and she went stomping around like a lunatic demanding to see you. I was trying to get her to settle down." Hermione blanched as she did realize now that she had come off a bit horrible to her old friend. Just as Ginny were about to yell at him once more, Hermione intervened.

"He's right, Gin. He was really worried about me but I just ignored him. Oh, Harry I'm so sorry." Hermione told him genuinely. Harry crossed his arms, looking at his wife expectantly. The woman rolled her eyes playfully and looked back at Hermione.

"Dear, you do realize that you had your wand the entire time, right?" Ginny told her, causing Hermione to look down at her hand and turn red with embarrassment. Harry grinned cheekily as he undid the spell, winking at Teddy as the young man snorted in amusement.

"I swear, there are days where I forget I'm a witch." Hermione grumbled as she took Ginny's arm and led her to the living room. The two began to talk in fast and quiet sentences which made Teddy shake his head in amusement. Harry joined him, chuckling as he slung his arm around the boy.

"Have they always been this confusing? Or are all women this mad?" Teddy asked, earning a long sigh from the older man.

"Those two have always been confusing, but they're usually right about everything. As for all women being mad, why yes, yes they are. However, they're the best sort of mad you can possibly hope to get. Now, go make your mother some tea before the both of us end up sharing Lily's room tonight." Harry told him, shaking his head as he watched the two women sit down to talk about whatever it was that was so important.

* * *

"You remember how you told me to let things happen?" Hermione asked, earning a nod from her friend.

"Well I sort of did. It all kind of started because I almost hexed my silly little intern..." Hermione began regaling her story, from her intern to her temporary position and then finally with her dinner with Draco. Ginny, listened quietly, only interrupting to ask small questions here and there.

"...after I said that about him during the war it just seemed as if I said too much but he just looked at me and I felt like a kid all over again. I've never seen eyes like that before and I've never had anyone look at me that way. Do you know what I mean, Ginny?" She asked pleadingly, confused and wishing that there was a manual for women about men. Ginny grinned, nodding her head.

"Of course, there are days when Harry looks at me like that and I just want to take him upstairs and be horrible with him." She laughed as Hermione furrowed her brow a bit at that statement.

"I've never felt like that before..." She said quietly, folding her napkin in her lap as if it had the answers to everything she wanted to know. Ginny frowned, and fleetingly wondered if Hermione had ever felt any of the passion she and Harry shared. It made her sad to think that her best friend was missing out on something so valuable to a relationship.

"While I've never enjoyed talking about any of my brothers in any romantic sense, I have to ask...didn't Ron ever make you feel like that? Even in the beginning?" Ginny asked, reaching over and taking the napkin out of her fidgeting hands. She felt even worse as Hermione looked up with glossy eyes, shaking her head.

"With Ron, everything was just so comfortable. He made me feel safe and loved but he never really - oh lord I sound ridiculous-" She stopped waving her hands in front of her face as if to say "no more" when Ginny grabbed her wrists and put them down.

"You don't sound ridiculous. Just explain it the best you can." Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples as she thought carefully how to explain what was bothering her so much that she was keeping her friend away from her husband at what was now moving towards half past midnight. She closed her eyes and thought of the look Draco gave her just before moving the hair out of her face and the smile he gave her just as he left her front door.

"I feel like if Draco asked me to jump off a bridge after looking at me like that, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I've never felt so romantically reckless in my life. I married my best friend practically straight out of school and I was married to him happily for almost sixteen years. Why haven't I felt like this before? And yet when we got to the door all I could think of was that I didn't want to bring another man into my home where all of my memories were from Ron. How can I be feeling two ways at once? How can I feel like putty in his hands yet stiff up at the thought of bringing him into my home. I-" She began to breath quickly, almost as if she were ready to hyperventilate when Ginny stopped her, pushing a glass of water into her hands.

As Hermione calmed herself down, Ginny felt as if she needed a very stiff drink. She wasn't used to being the one calming Hermione down and seeing her in such a state was more worrisome than she let on. The younger of the two witches sighed quietly, trying to imagine what she would need said to her if the situation was turned around.

"You don't think you love him do you?" Ginny asked cautiously. Hermione choked a bit on her water and coughed.

"Of course not. I just want to know why the hell I want him to look at me like that again." She coughed again, taking another drink of water and missing the look of relief on Ginny's face.

_Thank Merlin. What the hell would I say if she suddenly proclaimed her love for Malfoy?_

"I'm afraid I'm a bit of a wreck." Hermione told her hoarsely, trying to shed some humor on the situation as she set her glass down. She sighed tiredly, looking at her Ginny searchingly.

"Do you think Ron cheated on me because he didn't feel that from me either?" She asked softly, more towards herself than to Ginny. She laid down, pushing her face into the pillow and wanted to never come back up. Although muffled, she could hear Ginny talking to her beginning to rub her back gently.

"Even if it was the reason why, it doesn't justify what he did and what he is doing to you. Whatever was missing from you relationship with him is something that he should have tried to fix with you. Maybe you never felt that way because he was always there - I don't really know. I mean, like I said, there are still many days where a look from Harry does that to me, so I don't know what you're going through. I won't say that I'm not glad that someone got this reaction out of you though. It all feels just really scary because you're realizing you have the capacity to enjoy someone else's company that way. But I also think you might be over analyzing things after just one dinner, wouldn't you agree?" She watched as under the massive bed of curls, Hermione nodded, mumbling an "yeah" into the pillows. Ginny laughed, grabbing the tray full of their tea dishes.

"As for that other problem, you know, not feeling like bringing someone new into the house...I say you just buy a new house!" Ginny joked, walking out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Hermione sat up from her position on the couch, a strange look starting to form on her face.

"I should buy a new house." She repeated aloud, beginning to think of all the different reasons why she should. She thought of getting Rose a different room (as she still refused to sleep in the room where she caught her father) or a bigger backyard for Hugo to practice his Quidditch. She could get a big library this time around and a new bedroom. _A completely blank slate. No memories of Ronald attached to every nook and cranny of my life._

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Ginny had walked back into the room.

"You know, I hate it when I spill things on my nightdress - what? What is it?" Ginny asked as she saw what she called Hermione's "deep thoughts face." She waved her hand in front of Hermione's face and jumped back a bit as Hermione shot out of her seat, excited. Wrapping her arms around Ginny she squeezed her tightly before letting go and smiling for the first time since she'd arrived at the Potter residence.

"Oh no. What?" Ginny asked, suddenly worried.

"You're brilliant Ginny." Hermione told her, her face completely brimming with excitement. Ginny smiled at the compliment, pushing her hair back.

"Of course I am - why?"

"Because, you're right. How can I ever do anything different when I hate being in my own home. I hate thinking of it feeling empty because things aren't how they used to be, and because I hate thinking of Ron and Lavender being in my house the way that they were. I have almost a month and a half off work and I could move into a new place. And, if I ever decide to let someone else in my life, I won't feel weird that I'm bringing them into the home Ronald and I shared. Ginny, I'm going to buy a new house."

Ginny grinned as she watched Hermione begin to spout off ideas for a new place and was happy to see her best friend had finally returned after being gone for the past few months. The spark in her seemed to ignite again with this new project and while she could spot her tired husband looking down the stairs at her to see if she would be coming to bed, she shook her head at him. If this is what it took to get her friend out of her current funk, she was going pursue it wholeheartedly.

"Well, I have and idea for the location-" She quipped, getting comfortable in her seat.

The two women began talking about houses and furnishings until the early hours of the morning.

* * *

A/N: I haven't written anything in a while for this story, but as you can see I've started it up again. I hope you all enjoy it as I enjoy writing it. Please review and tell my if there is anything you'd like to see happen or things you'd like sped up/slowed down, and I'll try to incorporate my readers ideas. Also, if anyone would like I've been thinking about putting up a timeline to show all of the marriages/births of the characters in this story. If there is enough of a want then I will. Thank you for taking the time to read this. - _Lyssa_


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